Discharging up to three planning conditions costs from £325 at Fixed Fee Plans, and the council charges its own fee for the request. We read your decision notice, prepare the drawings and details each condition asks for, and write the covering letter that lets the council sign them off.
A condition is not a refusal in disguise. It is the council saying yes, as long as you show it the brick, the window or the landscaping first. Skipping that step is the most common way a good permission goes wrong, because it is easy to start work on the day a builder is free and forget the condition that said not to.
What does it mean to discharge a condition?
It means getting the council to confirm in writing that you have given it the information a condition required. Planning conditions can say "before development begins, details of the facing materials shall be approved", and until the council has agreed those details in writing, you have not met the condition. Article 27 of the Development Management Procedure Order sets the process: a written application with the particulars and drawings needed, and a decision within 8 weeks of receipt, or a longer period you agree in writing.
Pre-commencement conditions are the ones to watch. They must be met before any work starts, which for a builder means before the first trench. The planning practice guidance also says a council cannot impose a pre-commencement condition without your written agreement, except in cases set out in regulations, so check whether you were asked to agree to those on your decision.
What will the council ask for, and what does it cost?
The council's fee is £89 for a householder permission or £309 in any other case, charged once for the request even if it covers several conditions, according to the government's fee schedule from 1 April 2026. It is paid to the council when you submit, not to us. Our fee covers the work behind the request, and it is a floor: a scheme with more than three conditions, or one that needs a specialist report, is quoted before we start.
Typical London conditions are mundane. Brick and roof tile samples to match the terrace. Obscure glazing to a side window. Cycle storage for a new flat, a boundary treatment to the garden, a construction method statement where the street is narrow. We draw the ones that are drawings and write the ones that are schedules. Where a condition needs a person with a licence, such as an arboricultural method statement, we say so up front, and our tree survey covers the survey part.
What happens if I ignore a condition?
The permission can be undermined and the council can act. Where a condition is not complied with, the council may serve a breach of condition notice under section 187A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It must allow at least 28 days to comply, and if the person responsible is still in breach afterwards, that is an offence.
The quieter risk is the clock. In England a permission lapses unless development begins within three years, by section 91 of the Act, and starting work in breach of a pre-commencement condition can leave you with work that has not lawfully begun. Do not start on the strength of a builder's assurance: send us the decision notice first, and we tell you in plain words which conditions bite and when. If the condition no longer suits the scheme, a planning amendment is the route to change it, not an ignored condition.
When is a different route better?
Sometimes the right answer is not to discharge but to vary. If you want to change what the condition says, or the approved plans no longer match what you want to build, you need a different application. Our planning amendment service handles revisions to drawings we prepared, and the council's fee depends on whether it is a non-material change or a variation.
If you have not yet applied, our complete planning drawing service at £645 drawings + £150 survey (£795 total) draws the scheme with the likely conditions in mind, and the fee guide lists every council charge in one place. The permitted development checker shows whether a smaller version needs no permission, and so no conditions at all.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to discharge conditions before I start building?
Only the ones that say so. Pre-commencement conditions must be met before development begins, while others apply before occupation or are ongoing. Send us the decision notice and we mark each one with its trigger.
How much does it cost to discharge a condition?
Our fee is from £325 for up to three conditions. The council's fee is £89 for householder development or £309 otherwise, charged once per request and paid to the council.
How long does the council take to decide?
It must give notice of its decision within 8 weeks of receiving the application, unless you agree a longer period in writing. Build that into your programme before a builder is booked.
Can I discharge a condition after I have built?
Not safely. A condition that required details before work, if skipped, leaves the work in breach, and a retrospective route is needed. Our retrospective application page explains how that works and what it costs.