A condition compliance tracker for a consented scheme
A decision notice with 23 conditions is a work programme. Here is how to extract them into a tracker, classify them by trigger, work the dates back from the build programme and hand the continuing ones over.
A decision notice with 23 conditions on it is a work programme, and the commonest cause of delay on a consented scheme is discovering in month three that condition 9 needed a bat licence obtained in May. A planning condition tracker turns the notice into something a project manager can run: every condition, its trigger, who owns it, what evidence it needs, and when the submission has to be made for the answer to arrive in time.
Build it on the day the decision notice arrives, not on the day the contractor mobilises.
Extracting conditions into a working schedule
Start by copying every condition into the schedule in full, with its number and the reason given for it. Paraphrasing at this stage is how requirements get lost, and the reason matters because it tells you what evidence will satisfy the officer.
Then add the documents the notice approves. Most notices list approved drawings by number and revision, and that list is itself a condition in substance, because building anything different is a breach.
Keep the schedule in one file that the whole team works from, with a version date. Two versions of a condition tracker on a project is worse than none, because nobody knows which one the last submission was made against.
Classifying by trigger
Conditions divide into groups by when they bite, and the grouping drives the programme.
| Trigger | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Before development begins | Must be discharged before any material operation, including site clearance in most wordings |
| Before a defined stage | Typically before works above damp-proof course, or before the roof is constructed |
| Before first occupation or use | Landscaping, boundary treatments, verification reports, parking and cycle stores |
| During construction | Hours of working, wheel washing, method statements to be followed |
| After completion | Landscape management, travel plan monitoring, restrictions on use or hours, biodiversity monitoring |
Separate the conditions that require something to be submitted and approved from those that simply have to be complied with. A condition restricting working hours needs no application, and adding it to the submission list wastes a fee.
Section 100ZA of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 restricts the imposition of conditions requiring action before development begins without the applicant's written agreement, so check whether the wording you have was in fact agreed.
Owner, evidence and target date for each
The three columns that make a tracker useful are the owner, the evidence and the date.
- Owner: a named person, not a company. A condition owned by the design team is owned by nobody.
- Evidence required: the specific document, drawing, sample or survey, described in the words the condition uses.
- Producer: who writes it, and whether they are appointed yet.
- Target submission date: worked back from the trigger, allowing for the authority's determination period.
- Actual submission date and the application reference.
- Determination date and outcome, with the approval notice reference.
- Notes: any part-discharge, any correspondence agreeing a variation of approach.
Applications to discharge conditions attract a fee per request and have a determination period set by the procedure order, so batching several conditions into one request can save money. It also means one difficult condition holds up the rest, so batch by trigger rather than by subject.
Linking conditions to the construction programme
Take the construction programme and write the trigger dates onto the tracker. Then work backwards: the determination period, plus the time to produce the evidence, plus any lead time outside your control.
The lead times that break programmes:
- Seasonal ecology survey windows, which can add months if missed. Bat emergence surveys run in the warmer months, and great crested newt survey and trapping windows are narrower still.
- Third party agreement, such as a water undertaker's connection approval or a highway authority's technical approval.
- Intrusive ground investigation, which needs a rig, access and sometimes a permit.
- Material samples, where a sample panel has to be built and inspected on site.
- Archaeological evaluation, which may require a written scheme of investigation approved first.
Where a condition cannot be discharged in time, apply early for a variation of its wording under section 73 rather than starting work and hoping. Starting development in breach of a condition that had to be satisfied first can leave the development unlawful, and the case law on that point is unforgiving.
Tracking submission and determination
Record dates rather than statuses. A column saying "in progress" tells you nothing in month six, whereas a submission date and a determination date tell you whether the authority is late.
Where the authority does not determine within the period, chase in writing and keep the chaser. Where it requests further information, log the request and the response separately so the clock is visible.
And watch for part-discharge. Officers often approve a condition in respect of one phase or one plot, and the tracker needs to show that the condition remains live for the rest. A condition marked discharged when it was discharged only for plots 1 to 12 is the most common error in a handover file.
Conditions that continue after completion
Some obligations run for decades. Landscape management plans, travel plan monitoring and review, restrictions on hours of use or on the use itself, and the biodiversity monitoring and reporting required under the biodiversity gain condition, which operates on a 30-year horizon.
These are enforceable long after the contractor has left, and breach of condition can be enforced through a breach of condition notice, against which there is no appeal. On a scheme sold to an owner-occupier or a management company, the person now bound by the condition often has no idea it exists.
So the tracker has a second life as a handover document. Extract the continuing conditions into a short schedule, attach the approved documents, and hand it over with the building.
Handing the tracker to the building owner
The handover pack that actually gets used contains the decision notice, the approved drawing list, every discharge approval notice, the documents approved under each condition, and a one-page summary of the conditions that continue to apply, with what each requires and when.
For a scheme with a section 106 agreement, add the obligations that survive practical completion and the trigger for each. Buyers' solicitors ask for exactly this material, and having it assembled shortens a sale.
A Planning Statement prepared at application stage often anticipates several of these conditions, and revisiting it when the notice arrives is a quick way to see which evidence already exists. The same goes for the Design and Access Statement, which usually contains the material a landscaping or materials condition asks for. Our note on drainage strategy for a minor residential scheme covers the drainage condition at the smaller end, and the PlanScope report index lists the report types a discharge submission may need.
One honest caveat. Authorities differ in how strictly they read the phrase development shall not begin, and some treat site clearance as a material operation while others do not. Where the answer matters to your programme, ask the case officer in writing.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
What should a planning condition tracker contain?
Every condition copied in full with its number and stated reason, the approved drawing list, the trigger, whether approval is required or the condition is simply to be complied with, a named owner, the evidence needed, the producer, a target submission date worked back from the trigger, and the actual submission and determination dates.
Can several conditions be discharged in one application?
Yes, and batching saves fees because a fee applies per request. The trade-off is that one difficult condition can hold up the whole batch. Group conditions by trigger rather than by subject, so the items needed before work starts travel together and are not delayed by a pre-occupation condition.
What happens if work starts before a condition is discharged?
Where the condition had to be satisfied before development began, starting work can leave the development unlawful, and the case law on this is strict. The safer route is to apply under section 73 to vary the condition's wording or timing before starting, rather than beginning work and seeking to regularise it afterwards.
Which lead times most often break a programme?
Seasonal ecology survey windows, which can add months if a season is missed, third party technical approvals from water undertakers and highway authorities, intrusive ground investigation needing a rig and sometimes a permit, material sample panels built and inspected on site, and archaeological evaluation requiring an approved scheme first.
What is part-discharge and why does it matter?
Officers often approve a condition in respect of one phase or a group of plots only. If the tracker records the condition as discharged, the remaining plots are left in breach without anyone realising. Record the extent of each approval, and keep the condition live in the schedule until every phase is covered.
Which conditions continue after the building is finished?
Landscape management plans, travel plan monitoring and review, restrictions on hours or on the use itself, and the biodiversity monitoring and reporting required under the biodiversity gain condition, which runs on a 30-year horizon. These are enforceable by breach of condition notice, against which there is no appeal.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.