Planning Conditions. A Practical Guide to Imposing, Drafting, Discharging and Defending

Planning Conditions: A guide to imposing, drafting, discharging and defending

Most of the arguments that follow a planning permission are about its conditions. Applicants can’t start work because a pre-commencement condition hasn’t been discharged. Purchasers’ solicitors want to know whether an occupancy tie still binds.

This is a working guide for development management officers and planning consultants in England. It covers the changes that came in 2026. These include the new NPPF policy DM6 and the transfer to officers of discharge, non-material amendment and many section 73 decisions from 31 October 2026. It also covers section 73B, and the Court of Appeal’s warnings in Fiske and WildFish that a section 73 permission is a separate permission.

Twelve chapters run from justifying and drafting a condition to discharge, variation, obligations, prior approvals, breach and appeal. Each chapter is grounded in real appeal and costs decisions, and each ends with checklists and full sources. The final chapter is a model schedule of conditions with commentary, ready to draft from.

The law and policy are stated as at 4 November 2026.