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Planning

Discharge of planning conditions in London

Planning permission often arrives with conditions that must be cleared before you build: materials, drainage, landscaping, a construction method. We prepare the drawings and details each condition asks for and submit the request, from £339 for a pack of up to three conditions. The council's own fee is paid to the council.

From £339, no VAT to add

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    The fixed fee for discharge of planning conditions

    Fixed fee
    from £339
    Total you pay
    from £339
    Council fee
    paid to the council separately

    No VAT to add. The fee is fixed in writing after a free constraints check of your address.

    What you get

    • A reading of every condition on your decision notice
    • The drawings, schedules and statements each condition needs
    • Each item labelled with its condition number
    • The discharge request prepared and submitted for you
    • Follow-up if the officer asks for more
    • A list of any outside reports a condition depends on
    Request your fixed quoteCall 020 7131 9703
    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on discharge of planning conditions

    Seven steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    Why a condition can stop a build before it starts

    Read the decision notice, not just the headline. Under the permission sit numbered conditions, and some of them are written so that nothing may begin until they are met. Those are called pre-commencement conditions.

    The guidance says such conditions should be used "Only where there is a clear justification, typically because the condition is so fundamental that the whole permission would otherwise be refused." Where one is imposed, starting early has a price: "Development carried out without having complied with a pre-commencement condition would be unlawful and may be the subject of enforcement action."

    For an investor with a builder booked and a finance drawdown date, that is the line that matters. A permission in hand does not mean a start date in hand.

    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window

    What the council expects to see for each condition

    A condition is a request for evidence, so the answer has to be shaped like evidence. A materials condition wants samples or product names against the elevations. A drainage condition wants a plan and a short statement of where water goes. A construction condition wants a method that shows how neighbours and the street are protected.

    We read the wording of each condition, work out what the officer will check, and produce exactly that: the drawing, the schedule or the statement, labelled with the condition number so the officer can tick it off.

    Conditions that depend on other professionals, such as a tree report or an ecology survey, we list for you at the start so nothing arrives late.

    How long the council has, and what the application costs

    The council has 8 weeks to give its decision, counted from the day after it receives the request, or "Any longer period agreed in writing between the applicant and local planning authority." If it has not decided within 12 weeks, the fee is returned.

    Under the current national fee schedule the council's charge is £89 for householder development and £309 in any other case, and it is paid to the council, not to us. Check which category your permission falls in; a flat conversion or a new dwelling is not householder development.

    Our own fee covers the preparation and submission of the pack, from £339 for up to three conditions.

    Working from your permission and your drawings

    If we drew the scheme, we already hold the approved plans and can match every detail to them. If another practice did, send us the decision notice and the approved drawings; we do not need a new survey unless a condition asks for one, in which case our measured building survey can supply it.

    Conditions are sometimes the first sign that a design needs to move. If a requirement cannot be met as approved, the route is a change to the permission rather than a discharge. Our planning amendment service handles that, and we tell you early which one you need.

    Packs of three, and what comes after

    Most householder permissions carry two or three conditions that need a response, so the fee is set per pack of up to three. A longer list is quoted as additional packs.

    Once the council confirms in writing that a condition is discharged, keep the letter. A lender, a buyer's solicitor or a building control surveyor may ask for it later. Where the work also needs building regulations drawings, we coordinate the two so the details do not contradict each other.

    The national rules in figures

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Planning practice guidance, use of planning conditions: time to decide a discharge request8 weeks—gov.uk
    Planning practice guidance, use of planning conditions: longer periodAny longer period agreed in writing between the applicant and local planning authority—gov.uk
    Planning practice guidance, use of planning conditions: fee returned if no decision by this point12 weeks—gov.uk
    Planning practice guidance, use of planning conditions: starting before a pre-commencement condition is metDevelopment carried out without having complied with a pre-commencement condition would be unlawful and may be the subject of enforcement action—gov.uk
    Planning practice guidance, use of planning conditions: when a pre-commencement condition is justifiedOnly where there is a clear justification, typically because the condition is so fundamental that the whole permission would otherwise be refused—gov.uk
    Planning fees in England from 1 April 2026: discharge of conditions, householder development89 GBPfrom 1 April 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Planning fees in England from 1 April 2026: discharge of conditions, any other case309 GBPfrom 1 April 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Which application your project needsLawful Development Certificate decision: 8 weeks. Prior approval decision: 42 days. Householder decision: 8 weeksYour projectWithin permitted development?Lawful Development CertificatePrior approvalHouseholder applicationYesLarger rear extensionNoABC

    Which application your project needs

    The usual route for a house; flats and listed buildings follow other rules.

    A · Lawful Development Certificate decision
    8 weeks
    B · Prior approval decision
    42 days
    C · Householder decision
    8 weeks

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Questions

    Can I start work while the council considers my request?

    Not on anything covered by a pre-commencement condition. Work that begins before such a condition is met is treated as unlawful and may face enforcement action, so wait for the written confirmation.

    What if the council does not reply in time?

    Its time limit can be extended by written agreement. If no decision is made within the refund period, the fee must be returned, and we can chase the case officer for you.

    Does the council's fee cover several conditions?

    One request can cover more than one condition on the same permission. The fee is set per request, and the national schedule distinguishes householder development from other cases.

    My permission was granted years ago. Is it still valid?

    That depends on whether the permission was started in time. Send us the decision notice and we will tell you what we see before you spend anything.

    Sources and dates

    City of London skyline glowing at dusk across the Thames under a dramatic orange sky

    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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