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Implementing Permission and Minor Changes

Implementing Permission

A planning permission may include conditions requiring you to submit further details for approval by the Council. Any request for approval of details will be dealt with in the same way as a planning application, including consultation where appropriate. In general, however, details will be dealt with more quickly than full planning applications.

Development must be carried out in accordance with the approved plans and any conditions attached to the permission. It is the applicant/developer's responsibility to let the Council know if amendments to the approved plans are necessary. You should also ensure that the planning scheme is compatible with other requirements like the Building Regulations.

Even when you have got planning permission, you may still need to get your landlord's approval, and the permission will not override any restrictive covenants, which affect your property.

Amendments

Since 1 October 2009 there has been a statutory recognition of the concept of ‘minor amendments’. These now take the form of applications for a ‘non-material change to the grant of planning permission’ or an application for ‘minor material change to the grant of planning permission’.

In the event that a development proposal changes, for example to meet different demands from the new occupiers or because of the need to meet other legislation such as the Building Regulations, it is recognised that in many cases, minor changes to the original scheme will be necessary.

(a)        Non-Material Amendments

Government guidance on non-material amendments is set out in ‘Greater Flexibility for Planning Permissions’ (DCLG, October 2010).  It does not define what changes may be treated as being non material as this will depend on the context of the overall scheme.

S96A of the Town and County Planning Act 1990 states that ‘in deciding whether a change is material, a Local Planning Authority must have regard to the effect of the change, together with previous changes made under this section, on the planning permission as originally granted.

The basic premise of a non-material amendment is that the overall description of the development originally approved should not be varied and that the form, appearance and siting of any building should remain basically the same.  This is a matter for individual judgement in each case. 

An application has to be submitted to the Council providing details of the proposed amendment(s) to the original planning permission. The Council has 28 days to determine the application, although a longer period may be agreed in writing with the Applicant. 

(b)        Minor Material Amendments

A minor material amendment is one whose scale and nature results in a development which is not substantially different from the one which has been approved.  However, this is not a statutory definition.  S73 of the Town and County Planning Act 1990 has effectively given the power to reissue a planning permission with amended conditions attached to address the proposed change.

An application for a minor material amendment can therefore only be made if a condition exists on the original planning permission that can be altered to reflect the change, for example plan numbers, materials specified, etc.  For further guidance, please refer to the DCLG publication ‘Greater Flexibility for Planning Permissions’ (October 2010).  In determining such applications the Council will focus its attention on national and local planning policies as well as other material considerations that have changed since the original grant of planning permission.

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This page was last reviewed 9 November 2012 at 10:03 by Shirley Gwilliams.
The page is next due for review 8 May 2013.
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Malvern Hills District Council, Council House, Avenue Road, Malvern, WR14 3AF - Directions to Council Offices.