Once planning permission is granted the development must be carried out in accordance with the approved plans. Should you wish to amend the approved plans for your development there are three options open depending on the scale and nature of the amendments proposed:
- Applying for a Non-material amendment
- Applying for a Minor material amendment
- Re-submitting an application for planning permission
A Non-material amendments must be within the scope of the original permission and must not result in a materially different scheme, with differing impact.
There is a specific application form for a non-material amendment and further guidance on making an application.
A minor material amendment is defined as ‘one whose scale and nature results in a development which is not substantially different from the one which has been approved'. In essence, a minor material amendment is something of a minor nature that has a material impact on the proposed development.
To apply for a minor material amendment is via a variation of condition application form under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
Amendments which are not minor in nature cannot be considered as a minor material amendment and should be the subject of a new planning application.
There is no set guidance on what would constitute a non-material amendment, a minor material amendment or require a new application as what may be minor within one application may not be within another application. If you are in any doubt it is advisable to seek guidance before submitting an application.
Please note these provisions only apply to planning permissions and do not apply to other planning related consents such as listed building consent, conservation area consent or advertisement consent. Further in-depth advice can be found on the Government website).