Pre Commencement Conditions Agreement

Nationals of the law and other third parties may propose conditions to mitigate potential effects and make it acceptable to evolve planning concepts. The decision to impose such conditions rests with the local planning authority (with the exception of the circumstances defined in the 2018 Directorate for Spatial Planning (development affecting motorways). As with any condition, stakeholders should consider whether all six tests are performed. Standard flat-rate conditions are inappropriate without it being reasonably necessary to determine whether they are necessary. Conditions are a useful tool for an LPA to control development. However, developers may find themselves in a network of conditions that need to relieve them before they can even begin to grow. The increasing use of pre-commencement conditions has long been a source of irritation for developers and is generally cited as the cause of unnecessary delays in the expansion. These rules give applicants the opportunity to have more influence over draft authorisations and I hope that, when authorisations are issued, they will be in good commercial condition. But it also means that further discussion and negotiation may be required before permission can be granted.

This could perhaps slow down the process of obtaining the building permit. It is still early and we have to wait and see if the delay will simply be postponed from the post-consent agreement to the pre-consent. While it is common for applicants not to accept the conditions before the start, we can see that there are significant delays in granting building permits, an increase in the number of refusals and, as a result, more oppositions. These issues are all counterproductive to the government`s goal of accelerating housing supply. As far as possible, those conditions should be discussed with the applicant before the authorisation is granted in order to ensure that no disproportionate burden is imposed. The local planning authority should ensure that the date for the submission of further information corresponds to the planned development of the site. Conditions which will unnecessarily compromise an applicant`s ability to use a development, which allow the use of a development or which have other effects on the proper implementation of the building permit should not be used. It is unlikely that the necessity test will be a condition requiring the submission and approval of the details already filed as part of the construction application. . .

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