How long does planning permission last from approval

[Mallowmarshmallow]

Hi all

We're considering beginning the process of getting plans and getting them approved by the council but may not build for a year or two. Does anyone know how long plans are valid from the date of approval?

Many thanks

3 years I believe, but if you put your foundations in, then it doesn't matter, it can take as long as you like

Thank you for responding. I had heard something about the period of time is to the 'start' of the building. We already have foundations for downstairs so I assume we would need to do something on the upstairs in order for it to be considered 'started'....

The validity of a Planning applications is governed by the Planning condition, i.e. start within three years. Once you start, there is no expiry limit to finish. If you are leaving it more or less as late as possible, make sure it’s “within” three years and not “on” the third year date. Having Building Control inspect is usually your implementation date.

It’s usually 3 years unless the condition stipulate something different. You only have to ‘implement’ (ie start) building within that timeframe, but not complete. But beware of precommencement conditions - you may have to submit details of various things for approval before implementing, discharge of conditions. This can take some months and causes a massive headache if it’s left too late and getting close to the deadline for implementation.

As above, usually 3 years. There was recently a dispute locally about what constituted starting work and having evidence of the foundations being put in within 3 years was enough. (It was disputed as the foundations didn't exactly match the plans but were considered good enough in the end.)