Generally speaking, most planning permission runs out after three years. Meaning, if you haven’t started work by this point, you’ll need to reapply.
What you need to know about granted planning permission
- Planning permission applies to the land, meaning your property and the connected land can be sold or let with the planning permission attached.
- Planning permission can be granted that have certain conditions attached - so hold off on calling the builders.
- Conditions tend to be the authority asking you to submit ‘details for approval’. These are details on your build that the authority felt weren’t fully described in your original application or they require further information on.
- It’s very important that you don’t start building before your conditions have been dealt with and supporting information has been sent across. Otherwise you could face rejection and have to revert all the work you’ve just started. Nightmare.
The rules of Outline Planning Permission
There are two forms of planning permission: full permission and outline permission. Outline permission is generally used if you want to get an idea from your authority what they might allow, before you invest a lot of money upfront getting full permission.
It also allows you to submit less detailed plans, meaning you worry about the finer aspects later.
Once your outline permission has been granted, you’ll have three years (typically) to sort out your ‘reserved matters’. These are basically the details of your proposal that you left out in the outline application.
Here’s what you might have in your reserved matters list:
- The appearance of your build or alterations to your property.
- Means of access - how you’ll get in and out of the building.
- Landscaping - how the surrounding area will be laid out.
- How big your project will be in terms of size.
- The layout you want for your home and the space around the property.
Now if all this talk of planning has got you in a cold sweat, don’t panic. Planning can often be managed by your architect, saving you from a lot of the stress.
If you're interested in having your planning managed, we offer a planning package that allows you to sit back and relax.
