What Are Planning Conditions — and How Do You Discharge Them?
Most planning permissions granted in England come with conditions attached. These are requirements that must be met either before development commences, before the development is occupied, or as an ongoing obligation during the life of the development. Failing to discharge a pre-commencement condition means starting work without lawful planning consent — a significant legal and commercial risk. Here's how planning conditions work and what you need to do about them.
Types of Planning Conditions
Pre-commencement conditions. Conditions that must be discharged (i.e., the required information submitted to and approved by the council) before any work starts on site. Common examples: approval of materials (requiring the council to approve the external materials before they're used); approval of drainage details; approval of structural method statements; and archaeological written scheme of investigation.
Pre-occupation conditions. Conditions that must be discharged before the development is used or occupied. Common examples: landscaping schemes must be implemented; acoustic reports must be submitted and approved; external lighting schemes approved.
Ongoing or management conditions. Conditions that apply throughout the life of the development — for example, restrictions on working hours during construction, requirements to maintain planting schemes, or conditions about hours of use.
How to Discharge a Planning Condition
To discharge a pre-commencement or pre-occupation condition, you must submit an application to discharge planning conditions — formally applying to the council for confirmation that the required information satisfies the condition. The submission should include the specific information required by the condition (material samples or specifications, drawings, reports, etc.) and a covering letter identifying the condition being discharged.
The council has 8 weeks to determine a discharge of conditions application. If they approve, you receive a written decision confirming the condition is discharged. If they refuse, you'll need to resubmit with revised information or appeal.
What Happens If You Ignore Conditions
Starting work in breach of a pre-commencement condition means the planning permission hasn't been validly implemented. The council can serve an enforcement notice requiring you to undo the work, and you may need to submit a retrospective planning application. Solicitors and mortgage lenders will pick up unresolved conditions on sale — it can delay or complicate a transaction significantly.
RCB's Approach
RCB reviews planning consents for our clients as part of the pre-construction process and identifies any conditions that need to be discharged before works begin. We do not start construction until the required pre-commencement conditions have been formally discharged.
07359 872594 | contact@rcbgroup.co.uk | www.rcbgroup.co.uk