Dealing with planning conditions
Mike Dade takes a look at the various extra requirements councils can include in your planning consent – and explains what they could mean for your building project
Mike Dade outlines the stipulations councils may require your self build to adhere to and how best to tackle them
Gaining planning consent for your new house, conversion or extension is a major milestone on the path to realising your project.
But it’s very often not the last step in the process. This is because planning permission is almost always granted subject to a number of conditions, which can require you to submit further details of your scheme to the council for their approval. This involves making what amounts to a mini planning application, with a form to complete and a fee to be paid.
While they’re commonplace, some conditions have the potential to delay the start of your project, add cost or even prevent your build from going ahead. So, whenever you’re making a planning application, it’s essential you’re aware of conditions and how they might impact on your goals.
The basics
Any conditions affecting your project will be clearly set out on the planning decision notice. Councils impose these restrictions for all manner of reasons but they’re generally aimed at ensuring the development proceeds as approved, that any potentially harmful effects are mitigated and that details of things like external materials, landscaping and drainage are submitted and approved.
Conditions can be attached to both full and outline planning permissions, as well as to the approval of so-called ‘reserved matters’ that follows on from an outline consent. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) contains specific government guidance on conditions, and this is fleshed out in greater detail in Planning Practice Guidance.
All conditions are supposed to meet six tests. This boils down the following: they must be necessary to make the development acceptable; directly related and relevant to the proposed development and to planning; and enforceable, precise and reasonable in all other respects.
The guidance aims to limit their use, but it’s fair to say some councils routinely impose far more conditions than others. It’s always a good idea to look at two or three decision notices for the type of development you’re proposing to see what approach your local authority takes.
Impact on build schedules
Some of these stipulations might require details to be agreed with the council before the start of your build – these are known as ‘precommencement’ conditions. They may also apply at various stages during the build, typically before you go beyond slab level, prior to technical completion of the project, and before it’s first occupied.
Recent guidance issued in autumn 2018 discourages the precommencement route and favours the idea of enabling development to get underway, while conditions details are still being agreed. In addition, the wording of pre-commencement conditions is now supposed to be agreed with applicants before the permission is granted.
Experience so far shows a mixed reaction from local authorities, with some appearing to totally ignore the guidance. Others present conditions at the 11th hour, just before the decision on the application has to be made, leaving applicants with little choice but to agree to them or risk a refusal of permission. No doubt the situation will bed-in over time, although different councils will, as ever, interpret the rules to suit their particular whims.
Typical conditions
There’s a standard time limiting condition applied to most permissions (the exception being retrospective consents) indicating that the approval lasts for three years – ie you must start the works within that period for the permission to remain valid. Many councils also routinely impose a condition detailing the approved plans and stating the development must be in accordance with them.
There are a number of other common stipulations, which we’ll run through now. Bear in mind the below is not an exclusive list, and pretty much anything related to the details of your build or its potential impacts could be the subject of a condition.
External materials Conditions in this area vary from those requiring the use of products to match the existing house (for extensions) through to
complying with descriptions indicated on the plans. Frequently, you will need to supply samples of windows, bricks, tiles etc to the council for approval prior to the commencement of works.
Landscaping You’ll often encounter stipulations covering both hard and soft landscaping. The former might include solid surfaces, walls and steps; and the latter trees, shrubs and lawns. Again, the amount of detail required can vary. Planting plans and schedules might have to reference numbers of plants, their spacing, size of pots and the height of the specimens.
Archaeology & ecology If the council has identified potential for your scheme to impact on either of these areas, they may require you to submit and agree surveys or reports. These conditions can be troublesome, partly because of the cost of such reports, but also because of the delays that can result if anything significant is found. For those converting rural properties, or knocking down old buildings, bat and/or owl surveys are likely to be required. Detailed bat surveys can only be undertaken in the summer season when the critters are active. Similar issues arise with other protected species, such as reptiles and great crested newts.
Visibility As long as you can secure the necessary sight lines, conditions requiring details of visibility splays to be submitted and approved (and kept open permanently) won’t be a problem. If you have doubts about your ability to fulfil such stipulations, it’s best to liaise directly with the highway authority to see how an agreement can be reached. Detailed plans for parking and turning spaces might be requested if insufficient information has been presented in the main application. Ensure your proposals comply with local standards.
Drainage Details of foul and surface water drainage are often sought, particularly where connections to mains services aren’t available. Take advice from a reputable supplier of private sewerage systems to ensure your proposed setup is suitably located and of adequate capacity.
Contamination If this is suspected, for example where industrial premises are being converted or replaced, the council will want to ensure a suitable survey is undertaken. If contamination is found, it will have to be investigated and analysed, and a remediation plan agreed and implemented. This can involve digging trial pits, laboratory analysis and removal of contamination for safe disposal. Costs and delays during this process can be significant.
Dealing with conditions
You can’t get away from planning conditions, but you can minimise their impact on your project. Here are the three principal routes to managing these stipulations:
1 Minimising the number
It’s possible to avoid conditions, and so speed up your project, by submitting detailed information on things like landscaping, materials and drainage as part of your initial planning application. The downside of this approach is the inevitable time and cost to get these details together in the design phase, before you even know whether you’re going to get planning consent for the house you want.
2 Discharging conditions
Where conditions require you to submit information to the council, you have to make an application. This involves completing a form, attaching the information required and paying a fee, which is currently (in England) £116 for conditions on an application for a new house, and £34 for works to an existing house.
The fee is per application, so if you’ve got several conditions to discharge, include them together in one application. A decision should be made in 21 days – but must be reached within eight weeks, unless a longer period is agreed. Where a council drags its heels, there’s a procedure for securing a so-called deemed discharge.
3 Removing conditions
If permission is granted subject to a condition that you don’t think meets one or more of the six tests, you can either appeal against it directly or apply to the council to have it removed or varied. The procedure attracts a £234 fee and is treated as a planning application.
Regardless of the outcome, the original planning permission remains intact and it’s just the condition that’s removed or varied. If the council refuses to remove or alter it, there’s then a right of appeal against that decision. Be aware that, if you go straight to appeal against a condition (instead of first applying to remove it), the whole permission can be reconsidered and could potentially be refused.