Granting planning applications and amendments

How planning permission is granted and how to make a change to your application.

If planning permission is granted, the development must be carried out according to the approved plans and the conditions attached to the decision notice.

Approval (discharge) of conditions

If a planning condition requires you to submit more information (known as ‘discharge conditions’) to us, you will need to apply through the Planning Portal.

Approval (discharge) of conditions – Planning Portal

Amending your approved planning permission

To make a change to your approved planning permission, you must submit an application through the Planning Portal. 

This includes non-material and minor material amendments.

Non-material amendments 

Government guidance on non-material amendments does not define what changes are non-material. It is up to the local planning authority to determine.

The non-material amendment process allows for very small changes to be made on decided planning applications. An application for a non-material amendment is usually done to determine if the proposed changes are material or not. 

If it is decided that the changes are material, then the application will be refused. 

Non-material amendment of an existing planning permission – Planning Portal

Minor material amendments

To be considered as minor, the proposed changes should not differ significantly from the approved plans. 

They can include small changes that do not alter its style or total area, such as changes to the:

  • scale
  • height
  • footprint

Minor material amendments: removal or variation of conditions – Planning Portal