About planning conditions

When an application is decided, conditions are normally added that must be met. Some conditions will require you to submit details to us for approval.

To do this you should:

1. submit an online application for the ‘Approval of Details Reserved by Condition’ using the Planning Portal
2. state the reference number of the approval notice
3. list the relevant condition numbers
4. confirm which associated documents (including drawing numbers) relate to which conditions
5. include plans and elevations to show any new structures required by a conditions, such as balcony screens
6. include the fee (£43 for householder approvals and £145 for all other approval types)
7. follow our discharge of condition advice for your required subject

If you are selling a property, and you want confirmation that a condition has previously been complied with, please see our following guidance.

Timeline

You should allow plenty of time for your submission to be considered and approved. Normally it can take up to eight weeks for a final decision to be made.

If you carry out works without first getting the relevant conditions approved, we may not be able to discharge them, even if the details you sent to us are otherwise acceptable. This can result in development schemes remaining unauthorised which can in turn delay or even prevent any future sale of the property. We may also take formal enforcement action against the breach of condition.

Some conditions attached to an outline approval cannot be discharged until the reserved matters have been approved. Any requests to discharge conditions in these cases will result in refusal and the fee will not be refunded. 

Reserved matter approvals

Where details are required to be approved by a condition attached to an outline approval, but the details are subsequently submitted and approved as part of the reserved matters, the condition will be considered to have been discharged. If a further application is nevertheless submitted to discharge the condition, the following approach will be taken:

• Where details submitted to discharge the condition are the same as that approved under the reserved matters, those details will be considered to have been already approved, and the fee will not be refunded.
• Where details required by a condition are approved under the reserved matters, and the applicant then wants to make changes, an appropriate application to change what was approved will be required. Attempts to amend the scheme using the discharge of condition procedure will be refused and the fee will not be refunded.

Changing conditions

If you are unable to meet conditions you can apply to change them via the Planning Portal. You can change or remove more than one condition using the same application.

Changing the original approval

If you want to change the original approval you must do so before applying to discharge any conditions attached to that approval. Applications to discharge conditions which show unapproved changes to the original scheme will not be approved and the fee will not be refunded. Please see our changing your application page for more information.

Form 1 January 2021, information and documents that you send with your application will be placed on our website for public inspection. This includes the name, address, and contact details of the applicant and their agent.

Before you submit, please consider any personal information you include in your application.

If you do not want any information in the public domain, contact us when you make your submission. We will consider your request.