Discharging of planning conditions

What if conditions are not discharged?

Our monitoring officer will ensure developments do not begin before conditions are discharged and will ensure compliance with approved plans.

If conditions are not discharged or adhered to you can be subject to planning enforcement action in the form of a Temporary Stop Notice which will prevent you from working on site, or a Breach of Condition Notice which will be visible indefinitely on all future land/property searches.

You might also invalidate your planning permission which means that it cannot be implemented lawfully, for example:

Not commencing work within the specified time period

Consent is considered implemented following the carrying out of a ‘material operation’ and if not done, the permission will lapse and you will need to apply again, in full.

Not completing work in accordance with the approved plans

This could invalidate the permission and you may have to demolish the section that is unlawful and rebuild it in accordance with the approved plans.

In some cases you may be able to apply to vary the approved plans via a formal application or you may need to apply for a new permission altogether.

If this application is refused you will be requested to demolish the unlawful section and rebuild in accordance with the approved plans

This also applies where you apply to vary the approved plans via a formal application, or you apply for a new permission altogether, but are refused. Your summary of the above -but it doesn’t have the same meaning. Please remove and replace with the above.

Commencing work without discharging pre-commencement/stage/pre-occupation conditions

If you commence within time but do not discharge the relevant conditions before starting, the permission is likely to be invalidated and you may not be able to implement it lawfully.

Even if you commence the development lawfully by discharging pre-commencement conditions, if you do not then discharge any stage or pre-occupation conditions, this is likely to also invalidate your planning permission.