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ARTICLE · 11 OCTOBER 2018

Streamlining Development Proposals, Increasing The Planning Inspectorate's Workload Or No Real Change?

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The long awaited effect of Regulations that will require Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to obtain the written agreement of applicants before imposing pre-commencement conditions on planning permissions ...

United KingdomReal Estate and Construction
Robert Bruce
Robert Bruce

Pre-commencement conditions requiring the applicant's approval

The long awaited effect of Regulations that will require Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to obtain the written agreement of applicants before imposing pre-commencement conditions on planning permissions will soon be known and will be interesting to watch in practice. Many have questioned whether it will be the end of many pre-commencement conditions, the beginning of more appeals or result in limited change in practice.

The Town and Country Planning (Pre-commencement Conditions) Regulations come into force on 1 October 2018 predominantly unchanged as a result of the consultation in February 2018.

Planning conditions operate to ensure development proposals are acceptable and proceed where planning permissions may otherwise have been refused. Certain planning conditions must be discharged by developers before works can commence on site, also known as pre-commencement conditions. If these conditions

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