Decisions on your planning application

When approving planning, listed building or advertisement consent applications, we may attach conditions. These may be to enhance the quality of or mitigate the adverse effects of the development.  

To assist in timely processing of planning and listed building applications, we have produced a set of standard conditions and informatives and these are available to view below: 

These standard conditions and informatives will be used on most decisions that we issue. 

The list is not exhaustive. As every planning and listed building application is unique, bespoke conditions and informatives may be required.  

Pre-commencement conditions  

Details which need to be agreed with us before the permission can be implemented are known  as ‘pre-commencement conditions’. We must first seek the written agreement with the applicant before imposing a pre-commencement condition. 

The procedure is as follows: 

1. We may notify applicants of proposed pre-commencement conditions, setting out  reasons for them, and giving 10 working days to respond.
2. Applicants must provide a ‘substantive response’ within 10 days (stating they do not agree to the imposition of the proposed condition, or providing comments on it); if they do not, permission may be granted with the proposed pre-commencement conditions in place, without the applicant's consent.
3. Where a substantive response has been provided, we can amend the condition, remove it, make it a post-commencement condition, or refuse the application.

The notice from the local planning authority must be in writing and must include: 

• the text of the proposed pre-commencement condition
• the reasons for the proposed pre-commencement condition
• the reasons for the proposed condition being a pre-commencement condition
• the date by which any response must be received (this must not be before the last day of the period of 10 working days beginning with the day after the date on which the notice is given).

Please note, in the event that agreement cannot be reached it is likely that permission for the entire development will be refused.  

To assist applicants, we have prepared a list of frequently-used pre-commencement conditions: 

In addition to the above conditions, the council or external consultees (for example, Historic England, Environment Agency, Natural England, London Underground, Crossrail, Transport for London, Thames Water) may propose bespoke pre-commencement conditions to make the development acceptable in planning terms. 

The requirement to seek agreement to a pre-commencement condition relates only to applications for full planning permission. We may attach pre-commencement conditions to other types of consent (such as Listed Building Consent) without the applicant’s agreement.