So You Have Got Planning Permission - Now What? A Guide to Conditions and Compliance

Congratulations! Your planning application has been approved. But before you start celebrating and ordering skips, take a moment to read through your decision notice carefully. Chances are that your approval comes with a list of planning conditions attached. Understanding these conditions is crucial to staying on the right side of the planning system and avoiding costly delays or enforcement action.

(Source: Bill Kasman via Geograph Britain and Ireland)

What Are Planning Conditions?

Planning conditions are requirements attached to a planning permission that must be fulfilled either before work begins, during construction or after completion. They are the local planning authority's way of making a development acceptable that might otherwise be refused.

Think of them as the "terms and conditions" of your planning approval. The permission itself gives you the right to develop but the conditions control how, when and to what standard that development must be carried out.

Why Do Local Authorities Impose Conditions?

Conditions serve several important purposes:

• Controlling the details - your permission might approve the principle of development but conditions ensure you submit detailed plans for materials, landscaping or drainage before work starts.

• Mitigating impacts - conditions can require measures to reduce noise, dust or traffic disruption during construction or to protect trees and wildlife habitats.

• Ensuring quality - they maintain standards for design, materials and workmanship that protect the character of the area.

• Safeguarding interests - conditions protect residential amenity, highway safety, flood risk and other planning considerations that matter to the community.

The key legal test is that conditions must be necessary, relevant to planning, relevant to the development, enforceable, precise and reasonable. However, what seems unreasonable to an applicant, may be perfectly justified in planning terms.

Types of Planning Conditions

Not all conditions are created equal. Understanding the different types will help you plan your project timeline and budget accordingly.

1. Pre-Commencement Conditions: these are the conditions that must be discharged before any work begins on site. They're often the most frustrating for applicants eager to start building but they are typically the most important. Common pre-commencement conditions include construction management plans, detailed drainage strategies, archaeological investigations and tree protection measures. Ignore these at your peril – starting work before discharging pre-commencement conditions can result in a breach of planning control and potential enforcement action.

2. Pre-Occupation Conditions: these must be fulfilled before the building or development can be occupied or brought into use. They often relate to physical works that need to be completed, such as access roads being constructed, parking spaces laid out or landscaping installed.

3. Ongoing Conditions: some conditions impose requirements that continue for the life of the development. These might restrict hours of operation for a business, require ongoing maintenance of landscaping or control how parts of the site can be used.

4. Conditions Requiring Details: many conditions are "reserved matters lite" – they require you to submit specific details for approval before proceeding with that aspect of work. You might need to submit samples of materials, detailed plans for boundary treatments or specifications for lighting installations.

How to Comply with Planning Conditions

Successfully navigating planning conditions requires organisation and forward planning:

• Read your decision notice carefully - make a list of all conditions, noting which are pre-commencement, which have specific timeframes, and what each requires.

• Create a timeline - map out when each condition needs to be discharged in relation to your construction programme. Remember that local authorities typically have eight weeks to determine discharge of conditions applications (though many aim for faster turnaround on straightforward matters).

• Submit details early - do not leave discharge of conditions applications until the last minute. If the council requests amendments or additional information, you will need time to respond without delaying your project.

• Be thorough - when submitting details to discharge conditions, ensure you are providing exactly what the condition asks for. Missing information will only delay the process.

• Keep records - maintain copies of all approved details and correspondence. You will need these if you sell the property or if any questions arise later.

• Communicate with the case officer - if you are unsure what a condition requires or whether your proposals will be acceptable, speak with the planning officer before submitting. A quick phone call can save weeks of back-and-forth.

What Happens If You Do Not Comply?

Failing to comply with planning conditions is a breach of planning control, just as building without permission would be. The consequences can be serious:

The local authority can serve a breach of condition notice requiring you to comply within a specified period. Failure to comply with such a notice is a criminal offence with potential fines. In extreme cases, the council could seek an injunction to stop work.

More commonly, you will face delays. If you have started work without discharging pre-commencement conditions, you may be required to stop until they are dealt with. If you have completed work that doesn't meet approved conditions, you might need to make expensive alterations.

Can Conditions Be Changed or Removed?

If you find a condition unreasonable or circumstances have changed, you can apply to vary or remove it under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act. However, this involves submitting a fresh application, paying a fee and potentially going through consultation again. There is no guarantee the council will agree to the change.

Sometimes conditions are poorly worded or genuinely impossible to comply with. In such cases, seeking a variation is entirely reasonable. But attempting to vary conditions simply because they are inconvenient is less likely to succeed.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Through years of practice, I have seen applicants make the same mistakes repeatedly:

• Assuming conditions are optional - they are not. Every condition must be addressed.

• Starting work too soon - the temptation to get on site is strong but starting before pre-commencement conditions are discharged will cause major headaches.

• Submitting inadequate information - a rushed or incomplete discharge of conditions application will be rejected, wasting time and money.

• Ignoring timescales - some conditions require action within specific timeframes (often "within three months of commencement"). Miss these deadlines and you could face enforcement action.

Getting Professional Help

While straightforward conditions can often be dealt with directly by applicants, complex conditions may require professional input. This is particularly true for technical conditions relating to drainage, contamination, ecology or highways.

A planning consultant can co-ordinate the discharge of conditions process, liaising with specialists where needed and ensuring submissions are complete and timely. For commercial developments or complex residential projects, this professional support often pays for itself in time saved and problems avoided.

Final Thoughts

Planning conditions might seem like bureaucratic hurdles but they serve an important purpose in ensuring development happens in a controlled and acceptable way. Understanding what is required, planning ahead and taking a systematic approach to compliance will help your project run smoothly.

The key is to treat conditions not as obstacles, but as a checklist for delivery. With proper attention and timely action, you can work through them efficiently and avoid the stress and expense of non-compliance.

If you are facing a long list of conditions on your planning approval and need guidance on compliance, do not hesitate to seek professional advice. Getting it right first time is always more cost-effective than trying to fix problems later.

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If your planning approval comes with a long list of conditions and you are unsure how to manage them, we can help. Our team has extensive experience guiding applicants through the discharge of conditions process - ensuring compliance, avoiding delays and keeping projects on track.

Contact us on +44 1235 766825 or email admin@bluestoneplanning.co.uk

to discuss your approval and find out how we can support you in meeting your planning conditions efficiently.