Changing Your Mind: Planning Amendments
The planning process has become increasingly opaque and protracted in recent years, so it's no surprise that we're seeing our clients received their hard-earned grant of approval only to realise that, in the intervening months or even years, that what they wanted then isn't what they need now. Luckily, there are a solutions for this.
The planning process has become increasingly opaque and protracted in recent years, so it's no surprise that we're seeing our clients received their hard-earned grant of approval only to realise that, in the intervening months or even years, that what they wanted then isn't what they need now. Luckily, there are a solutions for this.Richard Sandbach ARB RIBA Architect
The Problem
For many of our private residential clients, planning is something of a monolith; the process isn't always as clear as we all would like but what we want to make clear is what you can do in the event that something changes along the way between the planning submission and starting on site. With planning caseloads being very high at present, we are seeing local authorities citing 6-8 weeks before they even register the planning application, our longest application from validation to determination was in the region of 77 weeks; that's almost ten times the 8-week statutory consultation period.
A lot can change in this time, so it's increasingly the case where our clients are finding that the determination they receive is not necessarily what they now wish to pursue. The reasons for this tend to vary; change in personal circumstance, fluctuations in the material and labour markets or even just falling out of love with the design to name a few.
The Planning Process
In ordinary circumstances, when we submit a planning application on your behalf, it will go through a few checks before being registered on the Local Authority's planning portal, this is known as Validation which should be a relatively quick process. The statutory time to determination is given at 8 week for minor and householder applications, which is not often observed today, particularly in complex or challenging projects. Generally speaking, there are a few outcomes for a typical planning application to go, but for the purposes of this post, we're going to be assuming that the planning application was approved.
Amending a Planning Approval
Once you have your hard-earned Grant of Planning Permission (often with conditions), under normal circumstances, we are in a great position to proceed. But, as outlined previously, sometimes it's the case that what you have planning for is not what you want to build; luckily, there are mechanisms for this in the planning framework that mean you aren't necessarily stuck with what you have approval for.
Seeking to amend an existing planning approval is generally quite a good tactic as the overall proposal is agreed by the planners in general. How you proceed is generally dependent on the level of variation sought. The available options are:
Non-Material Amendment
Variation of Condition (Section 73)
Resubmission
Non-Material Amendment
Don't let the name mislead you; the material in non-material refers to the character of design and not the physical materials used in the building. Character generally refers to the scale massing and form of the proposal. Provided that these elements don't change, using different material finished on the elevations, moving a door or resizing a window can usually be captured by a Non-Material Amendment.
Left: At Plas Uchaf, we were able to change the finish of the extension from roughcast render to exposed stonework.
Variation of Condition (Section 73)
A variation of condition is quite a versatile application which can be used to modify the conditions that accompany an planning approval, up to and including extinguishing them. How this can be used to change the design to which the approval applies it by targeting the condition which states which drawings are considered to form part of the grant. By submitting a Variation of Condition, also known as a Section 73, we can essentially say that we want the condition to refer to drawings substituted in with the application. This gives us the ability to modify the massing and character of the proposal beyond a non-material amendment, of course, at the discretion of the planning authority. There are limitations to what can be done on the variation, but altering the form or architectural language can absolutely be achieved.
Right: With Plas Huan, we took an existing approval and used it put substitute in a much more radical design after appeal.
Resubmission
In the event that the plans for a site change so much that the planning application can't feasibly be amended through a Variation of Condition, the only recourse left is that a resubmission must be made; usually, this is required where the red-line boundary or definition of planning application itself. A resubmission does benefit from the consultation and planning case officer's report to inform what are the pain points and where a proposal will be successful. So, say that there have been changes to the fundamental parameters of the brief, be that a change in available lands, funds, proposed usage, these will typically require a new application which will be subject to the same consultation period in planning.
The benefit of this is two-fold: firstly, you can apply for a proposal that better suits your present circumstance and secondly, getting a new approval on a new scheme does not supersede the original one so you're free to building whichever you like, provided that the planning hasn't elapsed.
Conclusion
So, the good news is that if you change your mind, there are are options available to you that a commensurate with the level of change you're looking to enact.