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To check whether you can restart work under an existing planning permission in England, find the application on the local planning authority’s register, read the decision notice and approved plans, verify every relevant condition and its trigger, and establish whether development was lawfully begun by the stated deadline. Also check for later permissions, enforcement action and completion notices. A permission is not safe to rely on just because work once took place on the site.
This is a records and legal-status check, not a determination of any particular project. Planning is devolved: the sources and steps here concern England, so projects in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland need the relevant national and local rules.
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How do I check if planning permission is still valid?
Start with the local planning authority (LPA) that decided the application. Its public planning register is the best place to identify the official decision, conditions and plans. Search by the site address or application reference, then confirm that the result covers the correct land and proposed development. The statutory register framework is set out in the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015.
- Identify the right application. Check the site address and land description, application reference, applicant, decision date and decision. Similar addresses or multiple applications can lead to the wrong file.
- Look for later decisions. Search the register for subsequent permissions, amendments or applications relating to the site. A later decision may have changed the approved scheme, plans or conditions. Do not assume the earliest permission governs the work now proposed.
- Download the complete file. Obtain the decision notice and the approved plans it identifies. Read the officer’s report and other available documents for context, but treat the decision notice and approved documents as the central record of what was granted.
- Record the commencement deadline. Find the time-limit condition in the notice and note its exact wording and date. Check whether a later permission or decision changed the applicable deadline. Do not rely on a standard assumption about how many years a permission lasts; use the deadline in the relevant decision.
- Check the project’s history. Look for applications to approve details, written decisions on those applications, enforcement notices and any completion notice. The register may not answer every question about what occurred on site, so request the relevant file or notice from the LPA if necessary.
Salford City Council’s guidance recommends checking the permission notice carefully because conditions can apply at different stages, and advises contacting the planning department if a condition’s meaning is unclear. That is useful general guidance, but your own LPA’s file and decision determine the site-specific record.
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When you have found the file, make a simple chronology: decision date, any later decisions, the deadline to begin, any condition applications and decisions, the dates of claimed site work, and any notices. This does not decide the legal status by itself, but it helps reveal gaps and makes it easier to compare the paperwork with the project history. If two records appear inconsistent, do not choose one based only on which is newer or easier to find; ask the LPA for the complete record and advice from a planning professional where needed.
Which documents and details should I compare before resuming?
Compare the work you intend to carry out with the permission that actually governs the site. A practical review uses the decision notice, approved plans, condition decisions and the current proposal side by side.
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- Approved plans: Check drawing numbers, revisions, site boundaries and any other identifying information against the plans named in the notice. A plan for an earlier or later application may not be the approved version for the work you plan to restart.
- Later permissions or amendments: Establish whether they replace, vary or otherwise affect the permission, plans or conditions you are relying on. If the relationship between decisions is uncertain, ask the LPA to clarify its file and get tailored professional advice.
- Condition approvals: For every condition requiring details or written approval, locate the application and the authority’s written decision. A submitted application is not proof that the details were approved.
- Site and project records: Gather dated records of the work said to have started, correspondence with the LPA and records showing whether required details were submitted or approved. These records can help a planning professional assess the project history, but they do not themselves establish the legal status of a permission.
Make sure the intended restart matches the approved scheme. If the design, location, materials, access or other elements of the proposed work differ from the approved plans or conditions, do not assume the existing permission covers the difference. Establish whether a further application or other planning step is needed before work proceeds.
If there is more than one possible route, compare each permission against the same questions: which notice and plans govern the current project; what is the commencement deadline; what evidence supports a qualifying start; which conditions remain to be cleared before work, occupation or use; and whether later amendments or notices affect the scheme. The comparison should be about the work proposed now, not simply which application appears to be the most recent or convenient.
Where the evidence is incomplete or the status is disputed, weigh the cost and time of obtaining project-specific planning advice against the risk of proceeding on an unverified permission. There is no reliable general answer without the actual decisions, conditions and site history.
How do I find planning conditions for a property?
Use the decision notice on the LPA register, rather than a property listing or a summary alone. The notice contains the conditions attached to the permission; check the associated plans and any later decisions as well, because the applicable requirements may depend on which permission governs the project.
Build a condition schedule before restarting. For each condition, copy its exact wording and record:
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| What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Condition number and exact text | Small wording differences can affect what is required. Keep the text together with the notice it came from. |
| Trigger | Note whether it applies before development begins, during construction, before occupation, or before a later use. A condition may be relevant even if it is not triggered by the next task on site. |
| Required action or details | Specify what must be done, submitted or approved, using the condition’s wording rather than a paraphrase alone. |
| Approval and evidence | For an approval condition, record the application date, the authority’s written decision and any approved documents. For an action condition, retain suitable records showing what was done and when. |
| Status before the next phase | Mark whether the condition is satisfied, still pending, or unclear, and identify the stage at which it must be satisfied. |
Conditions do not all operate at the same point. Some require details or approval before any development starts; others control how work is carried out, or restrict occupation or later use. Do not treat a condition that is not triggered before the next construction task as irrelevant to the wider project. The full wording and timing matter.
For each condition, distinguish between a requirement to obtain approval and a requirement to carry out an action. If approval is required, the file should contain the written decision and relevant approved details; if the condition requires an action, keep evidence of when and how it was carried out. A condition schedule is a tracking aid, not a replacement for the wording in the notice. Where wording is unclear, ask the planning department rather than relying on a shortened summary.
What if a condition requires approval before work starts?
Apply to the LPA in writing with the relevant details and wait for its written decision before treating the requirement as approved. Government guidance says requests for approval of further details required by conditions must be made to the local planning authority in writing, enclosing relevant details. See Use of planning conditions.
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The guidance says the authority generally must give notice of its decision within eight weeks after receiving the request, unless a longer period is agreed in writing; Environmental Impact Assessment cases can have a longer period. The eight weeks is a general decision period, not a guarantee that an application will be approved or that work can start while a decision is outstanding.
Keep a copy of the submission, proof of when it was made, the authority’s written decision and every approved document. Check that the decision covers the specific condition and details in question. If the authority asks for additional information or the written outcome is unclear, resolve that before relying on it.
Do not confuse the submission date with the approval date. An application awaiting a decision does not establish that a condition has been discharged. When checking an older project, look for both the details submitted and the authority’s written response; if either is missing, request the record from the LPA. Retaining the approval alongside the permission makes it easier to show which condition and version of the details it relates to.
How long before planning permission expires?
Use the time limit stated in the relevant decision notice and check for any later decision affecting it. There is no safe substitute for reading the site’s notice: relying on a familiar or assumed standard period can produce the wrong deadline.
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A time-limit condition commonly requires development to begin by a specified date. The key question for a paused project is not only whether activity occurred before that date, but whether development was legally begun in the way required and whether the work complied with applicable conditions.
Section 56 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 sets out the material-operation principle relevant to when development is taken to have begun. It is not a blanket rule that any activity on site preserves a permission. Whether particular work amounts to a material operation comprised in the permitted development depends on the facts and the scheme. Do not infer that preliminary activity, site preparation or partial work automatically counts.
Conditions that must be met before development begins can make the commencement question more difficult. If such a condition was not satisfied at the relevant time, the legal effect of work carried out before the deadline may be fact-specific. Gather the notice, plans, condition decisions and dated project records, then obtain site-specific planning advice before assuming the permission remains available.
For that reason, distinguish three questions: what deadline the notice sets; what work was actually done by that date; and whether that work was a material operation comprised in the permitted development, with applicable conditions satisfied. A date in a diary or evidence that people visited the site answers only part of the inquiry. The legal test and the details of the permission matter, so do not treat any single item of site activity as conclusive without an assessment of the facts.
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Do not restart on the assumption that a past start, remaining work or a long pause has preserved the permission. First establish whether the development was lawfully begun before the stated deadline, whether the planned work remains within the approved scheme, and whether any notices or conditions affect it.
If you cannot verify a qualifying start by the deadline, treat the permission’s status as unresolved. Ask the LPA for the full application and enforcement file, including any later decision or notice, and seek advice from a planning professional or solicitor familiar with the project. The appropriate next step depends on the permission and site history; the records here cannot determine an unidentified project’s legal status.
Even where development began within the time limit, that does not necessarily mean the scheme can be left incomplete indefinitely. Section 94 of the Act provides a completion-notice mechanism in specified circumstances for development that began within the permitted period but remains incomplete. Check the LPA file for any completion notice and get advice on what it means for the project before relying on a timely start alone.
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A long pause is therefore a reason to check, not proof either that permission has expired or that it remains usable. Verify the actual deadline, the evidence and legal significance of the start, whether any required pre-commencement approval existed at the relevant time, and whether a completion notice or other later decision is on file. If the answer to any of those points is uncertain, resolve it before restarting rather than treating the remaining construction as automatically covered.
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Search the authority’s file for enforcement notices and completion notices, and ask the LPA directly if the register does not make the project’s status clear. These notices can matter even where the original planning permission and its conditions are available.
Government guidance defines a breach of planning control to include carrying out development without required permission or failing to comply with a condition or limitation attached to a permission. The guidance also sets out different enforcement limitation periods for different categories of breach, including a transition tied to 25 April 2024 for specified operational development and single-dwellinghouse changes of use, as well as exceptions such as deliberate concealment. See Enforcement and post-permission matters.
Those enforcement periods are not a way to establish that a permission remains valid, nor a substitute for checking the decision, commencement and conditions. If there has been enforcement action, a disputed condition or a long gap in construction, get advice on the actual notice and facts rather than inferring the outcome from a general time limit.
The government’s definition includes “failing to comply with any condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted.” That is why a permission notice alone is not the whole check: a condition can remain relevant to whether the development was carried out in accordance with the permission. The enforcement guidance describes different periods and exceptions, so do not apply one general deadline to every type of alleged breach or use those periods as evidence that a project can safely resume.
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Do not restart until the record supports the proposed work and the conditions triggered at that stage have been addressed. Use this final check to identify gaps:
- The correct LPA decision notice and application reference.
- The approved plans for the permission that governs the current scheme.
- The exact commencement deadline and any later decision that may have affected it.
- A documented basis for concluding that development was lawfully begun in time, if the project relies on a past start.
- A condition schedule showing each requirement, trigger and status.
- Written approval decisions for details required by conditions, where applicable.
- Confirmation that the proposed restarted work matches the permitted development and approved plans.
- A check for later permissions, enforcement notices and completion notices.
If a key document is missing, request it from the LPA. If the start date, effect of a pre-commencement condition, relationship between permissions, or status of a notice is disputed or unclear, get project-specific advice before work resumes. A clear file reduces avoidable risk, but only the authority’s record and a proper assessment of the site facts can resolve a particular case.
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Keep the working set together: the notice, the plans identified by it, later decisions, condition applications and approval letters, dated evidence of the claimed commencement, and any correspondence or notices. Recheck the set against the exact work planned for the restart. This makes missing approvals or discrepancies easier to spot, but it does not turn an uncertain legal question into a confirmed permission status.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a planning permission automatically transfer when a property is sold?
A change in property ownership does not by itself answer whether a particular permission can still be implemented. Check the permission documents and project history with the LPA, especially if the previous owner carried out work or made condition applications.
Can I rely on an online planning portal if some documents are missing?
Use the portal to identify the application and available records, but request missing notices, plans or decision letters from the LPA before relying on an incomplete file. A portal summary is not a substitute for the actual decision and its approved documents.
Does a building regulations approval mean planning permission is still valid?
No. Building regulations and planning permission are separate matters; evidence relating to one does not establish the status of the other. Check the planning decision, conditions and project history directly with the relevant planning authority.
Who can assess whether earlier site work counted as starting development?
A planning consultant or solicitor can review the permission, conditions, dated evidence and work completed against the statutory test. The assessment is fact-specific, so provide the complete file rather than relying on a brief description of the site activity.
How do I know which of two permissions applies to the work I want to restart?
Compare each decision notice and its approved plans, conditions, deadlines and later amendments against the current proposal. If it is unclear whether one decision changes or replaces another, ask the LPA to clarify the file and seek project-specific advice.
The Bottom Line
Before restarting, match the current work to the correct decision notice and approved plans, verify the deadline and any qualifying start, clear conditions that apply at this stage, and check for later decisions and notices. If the record does not establish the permission’s status, pause and get site-specific advice.
