Guide
Understanding planning conditions
What planning conditions are, why they are attached to permissions, the different types, and your rights if you consider a condition unreasonable. Essential reading before starting development.
Planning conditions are requirements attached to a planning permission that must be met before, during, or after development. They are used to make a development acceptable that would otherwise be refused.
Understanding your conditions is essential - breaching pre-commencement conditions is a criminal offence and can invalidate your entire permission.
Types of planning conditions
Common conditions explained
Pre-commencement conditions
These must be formally discharged before any work begins on site, including demolition, site clearance, or groundworks. Common examples:
- Construction management plan: How you will manage construction traffic, noise, dust, and working hours
- Archaeological investigation: A programme of archaeological works before ground disturbance
- Contamination investigation: Detailed site investigation and remediation strategy
- Drainage strategy: Detailed sustainable drainage design
- Ecological mitigation: Protected species mitigation before habitat disturbance
Prior to above slab level
These must be discharged before construction rises above ground floor level:
- External materials: Samples or details of bricks, roof tiles, windows, and other external materials
- Detailed landscaping: Full planting schedule, hard landscaping details, boundary treatments
Prior to occupation
These must be discharged before anyone uses or occupies the development:
- Highway works: Access road, visibility splays, and footpath connections completed
- Parking: Car parking and cycle storage provided as approved
- Open space: Communal areas and play facilities completed
Compliance conditions
These do not require formal discharge but must be complied with throughout:
- Approved plans: Development must match the approved drawings
- Working hours: Typically 8am-6pm Monday to Friday, 8am-1pm Saturday, no work on Sundays or bank holidays
- Noise limits: Maximum noise levels at site boundaries
Discharging your conditions
Challenging unreasonable conditions
Planning conditions must meet six tests set out in national policy. A condition must be:
- Necessary
- Relevant to planning
- Relevant to the development permitted
- Enforceable
- Precise
- Reasonable in all other respects
Your options if a condition is unreasonable
- Discuss with the case officer: Explain why the condition is problematic and suggest alternatives
- Apply under Section 73: Apply to vary or remove the condition. This creates a new permission with amended conditions
- Appeal: You can appeal against any condition imposed, though this puts the entire permission at risk
Do not start work without discharging pre-commencement conditions. Starting development without discharging these conditions is a breach of planning control. The LPA can take enforcement action, and in serious cases it is a criminal offence.