Glossary

22 October 2026Read article →

Material operations and the moment development begins

Development begins on the earliest date a material operation listed in section 56(4) is carried out. An undischarged pre-commencement condition can defeat an otherwise valid start.

Prior approval: the application that is not quite one

The permission already exists. A prior approval application only determines the matters the class lists, which is both the attraction of the route and its main trap.

Planning obligation: when a contribution may be required

Regulation 122 sets three statutory tests for any planning obligation. The most useful question in a contributions negotiation is which limb a given ask satisfies.

Section 73 application: varying a condition in practice

Section 73 lets you vary conditions on a permission you already hold, but it cannot touch the description of development and it will not buy you more time.

Certificate of lawfulness for a proposed use or operation

Section 192 asks whether a proposed use or operation would be lawful, not whether it would be acceptable. The authority has no discretion to refuse on the merits, and the onus of proof is on the applicant.

Stop notice and the compensation risk it carries

Section 183 allows a stop notice only where an enforcement notice has been issued. Section 186 then pays compensation if that notice is quashed on any ground other than the planning merits.

Enforcement notice: what it must specify to be effective

Section 173 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 fixes what an enforcement notice must say. Where the drafting fails, the notice may be a nullity rather than merely invalid, and that changes what you do next.

Non-material amendment: the narrow route to a small change

Section 96A of the 1990 Act lets a council amend a permission where the change is not material, with no statutory definition, no consultation and no right of appeal. How officers judge it.

Pre-commencement condition: the consent you now need

Section 100ZA of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 stops a council imposing a pre-commencement condition without your written agreement or a prescribed notice. Here is how the procedure works and what to do with a condition schedule.

Competent person: who the law accepts for which report

Six planning report types carry a statutory competence requirement. Many more only expect a suitably qualified author. The difference changes who can sign and what happens if they cannot.

Betterment in highway terms: what a section 278 delivers

A section 278 agreement lets a developer pay a highway authority to improve the existing highway, but only where the authority is satisfied the public benefits. Here is how it is secured and programmed.

Exceedance route: where water goes when the system fills

Every drainage system has a capacity, and water above it has to go somewhere. An exceedance route is the designed overland path, and it is a levels exercise before it is a pipe exercise.

Receptor: who and what an assessment protects

Receptor is the third term in the source-pathway-receptor chain, and every discipline defines it slightly differently. Getting the list right is what makes the rest of an assessment defensible.

Reasonable worst case: what it means in assessment

An outline or parameter-based scheme still has to be assessed against something definite. Reasonable worst case is how that is done, and the parameters you fix decide whether the assessment holds.

Severance: when one permission cannot be built in parts

A planning permission is normally a permission for the whole development, not a set of independent parts. Here is what severance means, where the rule comes from, and how to check the position for a part-built site.

Glossary8 min read

Enabling development: the heritage exception explained

Enabling development permits development contrary to policy because it funds the repair and future of a heritage asset. The tests are demanding, and the deficit has to come from the building rather than the owner.

Pre-commencement conditions and the agreement rule

Section 100ZA stops authorities imposing pre-commencement conditions without written agreement. The exception is served notice met with silence, which is why the ten working day window matters.

Validation: national and local list requirements compared

The national validation tier comes from statute and applies everywhere. The local tier is whatever your authority has published, and it can be challenged on reasonableness and relevance.

Permitted development rights: how they are removed

Permitted development rights can be withdrawn by an article 4 direction, a planning condition or the Order itself. Removal means you apply, not that you cannot build.

Zone of theoretical visibility: what a ZTV shows

A zone of theoretical visibility is a geometric screening tool, not evidence of visual harm. Here is what it shows, where it comes from and how inspectors treat it.

Betterment and worsement in flood risk terms

Betterment is a reduction in the rate or volume of surface water leaving a site after development. Here is where the requirement comes from and how a discharge rate is actually fixed.

Local land charges and a planning search

The local land charges register records section 106 obligations, enforcement notices and tree preservation orders. It records nothing about live investigations or unauthorised works, which is where the risk sits.

Liability notice and demand notice under the levy

A levy liability notice sets the chargeable amount and a demand notice sets the payment dates. Here is what to check on each, how instalment policies work, and where the review and appeal routes lead.