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Q&As
What Counts as a Meaningful Start to Preserve Planning Permission Before It Expires?
We have planning approval to do a rear and side extension, and also to convert our loft into a bedroom.
We may not do the whole project ourselves, but we are one year into our planning approval (out of the three before it lapses), so we wanted to do something to ensure the approval lasts forever.
Digging a trench/footing for the extension feels fairly intrusive and expensive. Our loft conversion would include a Velux in the roof, which would also benefit us when we use the loft for storage. I wondered if this would "count" as a meaningful start to the work, and might be cheaper than digging the footing?
If people had other ideas too, that would be amazing.
3 Answers
Hi Charlie,
Planning permission expires after three years and there is no mechanism to extend it. Three years seems like a long time when permission is first granted, but time flies! If you are approaching the expiry date, you can either resubmit your application to obtain a fresh permission (with a new three-year expiry date) or you can commence works, meaning that your planning permission is implemented and does not expire.
The question is, what counts as commencing works? For building works like a new house of extension, the usual advice is to dig the trenches for the foundations. It is, however, reasonable to ask if there is something less demanding/expensive that could be done to save the consent.
There is no hard and fast rule about what counts as commencement, but I am afraid I am not persuaded that installing the rooflight would be enough. In addition, if you install the rooflight and then sometime later finish the project by building the extension, you would be at risk of enforcement action from the council, who could argue that they did not consider the works to amount to commencement. That is obviously not a risk worth taking.
You can ask the council whether they would accept the rooflight as commencement, but they are not likely to give you a clear, formal answer unless you applied for a lawful development certificate. However, if you are going to that trouble, you might as well just submit a new planning application for the development and obtain a new consent.
In sum, I suspect the rooflight is not enough to commence development and, either way, you risk enforcement action in the future. I would recommend proceeding with the foundation trenches or resubmitting your application to get a new planning permission.
Martin Gaine, Build It’s planning expert
I have planning approval for a new build which would involve demolishing an existing property including two attached garages. Would demolition of one of the attached garages count as a meaningful start?
Also, can we approach an independent contractor to sign off the work as having started or do we have to go through the local authority who granted the planning permission?
Hi Steve,
Demolition can be considered a meaningful start, but only under certain circumstances:
> Any pre-commencement conditions on the planning permission must have been dealt with.
> The description of development the council adopts for planning application purposes must include a mention of ‘demolition’.
If the above apply, then demolition of the garages may be sufficient as a material start. HOWEVER, I would strongly recommend that you check with the planning department that they agree. Getting this wrong could obviously be an expensive mistake!
For greater confidence, you should actively start construction on the new dwelling, for instance by digging the approved foundation trenches. Make sure you document them with dated photographs.
Ultimately, as Martin says above the only way to be sure is to apply for a Certificate of Lawful Development.
One important thing to bear in mind: if your council charges CIL, you need to make sure all the relevant self build exemption forms are submitted before you make your material start. Otherwise, you may have to pay the full CIL fee!
Best wishes,
Chris Batesmith, Build It Content Director