Discharge of Conditions
The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications and Deemed
Applications) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2008
The Government has introduced new fees for the discharge of
planning conditions from 6 April 2008. Full details can be seen in
the Statutory Instrument 958 and Explanatory Memorandum issued by
the Government on 2 April 2008.
From 1 April 2009 a fee will now be payable to WNDC where a written
request is made for the discharge of one or more conditions on the
same permission as one submission. Any number of conditions may be
in a single submission.
The fee is payable per written request to discharge conditions and
not per condition. The fee chargeable by the authority is £85 per
request (or £25 where the condition relates to planning permission
for extending or altering a dwelling house or other development in
the curtilage of a dwelling house – although WNDC does not
determine house holder planning applications). The fee must be paid
when the request is made, and cannot be received retrospectively.
It does not matter when the permission was granted.
Requests to discharge planning conditions that are received without
the appropriate fee will not be actioned until the fee is received.
You should ensure that the information submitted is comprehensive
and meets the requirements of the condition. The Corporation will
reject submissions for condition compliance where the details are
inadequate. Therefore you should read the condition and reason
carefully and in full prior to the submission. If you are unclear
about what is required please seek advice from your agent or other
officer who dealt with your application.
The submission for discharge of condition must be made in writing
or by using the new forms which are available on the Corporation’s
website - click here to go to the planning
application forms page. The letter or form must clearly
identify the relevant permission and the condition(s) concerned. We
will acknowledge your request and give you the name and contact
details of the officer who will be dealing with it.
The Corporation will aim to deal with your request within 28 days
of receipt of a valid submission. However if we need to consult
with external agencies such as the Environment Agency, Highways
Agency, or one of the Local Councils the period of determination
will likely take longer as it will be dependant upon any response
the Corporation may receive. This period however should not exceed
8 weeks. In any event if we do not determine the submission within
12 weeks of its valid receipt we are obliged to return your fee.
You should note however there is no ‘free go’ if the Corporation
refuses a submission and you submit a further one. A fee is
required per submission whatever the circumstances.
Submissions to discharge planning conditions should be sent to The
Planning Support Team, Development Control, WNDC, PO Box 355,
Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton NN5 5WU