The permission was the easy part.
More consented schemes die after permission than before it. Unaffordable conditions, an obligation nobody costed, and a levy demand that arrives after the good news.
Is this you?
What’s involved
Conditions
A permission with conditions attached is not a permission you can act on. Pre-commencement conditions have to be formally discharged, and starting work before they are can invalidate the consent entirely — a genuinely serious outcome that people stumble into because the work looked ready to go.
Some conditions shouldn’t have been imposed at all. There are established tests for whether a condition is lawful, and a condition that fails them can be challenged rather than complied with.
Changing a consented scheme
Three routes, in rising order of effort: a non-material amendment for genuinely minor changes; a section 73 application to vary or remove a condition — the workhorse, but it can’t change the description of the development itself; and a fresh application when the change goes to the substance of what was permitted.
Schemes that have drifted too far from what was described need the fresh application, and finding that out late is expensive.
CIL — mostly lost on paperwork, not on principle
| The trap | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Commencement notice not served the day before starting | Surcharge — 20% of the chargeable amount or £2,500, whichever is lower |
| Self-build exemption not granted before commencement | The full levy |
| Selling or letting within the clawback period | The exemption comes back as a debt |
| Exemptions never claimed — annexes, extensions over 100 m² | Money left on the table |
None of this is discretionary and very little of it is forgiven. The levy is calculated on floorspace, and calculations do contain errors — worth checking before paying.
Proof
A quantified CIL or S106 saving — a number is worth more than any adjective available on this page.
Questions we’re asked
Can I start on site before conditions are discharged?
Not where there are pre-commencement conditions. Doing so can invalidate the permission, which is far worse than the delay it was meant to avoid.
Can I change something without a new application?
Usually. A non-material amendment covers minor changes and a section 73 application covers varying conditions. What section 73 can’t do is change the description of the development — that’s the limit people hit.
How is CIL calculated and can it be wrong?
On floorspace, at the authority’s published rates. It can be wrong — measurement and the treatment of existing floorspace are both common sources of error.
I forgot the commencement notice.
Then there’s a surcharge, and it’s the lower of 20% of the chargeable amount or £2,500. Come to us before responding, because what happens next depends on the detail.
Send us the decision notice.
We’ll read the conditions, tell you which ones actually block a start, and flag anything on the CIL and S106 side before it becomes a bill.
Send us the permission