Demolition: when prior approval is needed

Demolition of a building is development under section 55(1A) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and Part 11 of the General Permitted Development Order 2015 then grants permission for most of it subject to prior approval of the method of demolition and the proposed restoration of the site. So demolition prior approval is the usual route, but four categories of building fall outside it entirely: listed buildings, scheduled monuments, buildings in conservation areas, and buildings where the right has been removed.

Get the category wrong and the consequences are not procedural. Unauthorised demolition in a conservation area or of a listed building is a criminal offence, not a matter for an enforcement notice.

Demolition as development, and the exceptions

The 1990 Act treats building operations as including demolition of buildings, subject to a direction by the Secretary of State specifying descriptions of buildings whose demolition is not development at all. Small buildings, certain gates, walls and fences, and buildings of limited volume have been excluded in that way, so check the current direction rather than assuming every demolition is caught.

Where demolition is development, Part 11 of the Order grants permitted development rights. One class covers the demolition of a building, subject to prior approval. Another covers the demolition of the whole or part of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure, without prior approval.

Note the two things Part 11 does not do. It does not authorise the redevelopment that follows, which needs its own permission. And it does not override any other consent regime, including listed building consent, scheduled monument consent and the conservation area rules.

What prior approval covers

Where prior approval applies, the council considers the method of demolition and the proposed restoration of the site. That is the whole scope.

In practice the submission should cover the sequence of demolition, the plant to be used, how the structure will be brought down safely, hoarding and site security, dust and noise control, wheel washing and haul routes, hours of working, and how the site will be left: capped services, levelled ground, a stable boundary treatment and a maintenance arrangement.

The council cannot refuse because it would prefer the building to stay, or because the replacement scheme has not been approved. What it can do is impose conditions on method and restoration, and those conditions are where the site management requirements land. Much of the same material belongs in a Construction Management Plan, and submitting one alongside the notification usually shortens the exchange.

The procedure and the timescales

The applicant applies for a determination as to whether prior approval is required, with a written description of the proposed development and a site plan, and displays a site notice on or near the land.

The authority then has 28 days from receipt to notify whether prior approval is required. If it says prior approval is not required, or says nothing within 28 days, demolition may proceed in accordance with the details submitted. If prior approval is required, the authority determines the application on method and restoration.

Where demolition is urgently necessary in the interests of safety or health, different arrangements apply and the developer must justify the urgency to the authority as soon as reasonably practicable. That route is narrow and should not be used to avoid the ordinary procedure.

Separately from planning, a notice of intended demolition must normally be given to the building control authority under the Building Act 1984, and that authority can impose its own requirements on shoring, weatherproofing exposed surfaces, sealing sewers and making good adjoining property. The two regimes run in parallel and both timescales need to be in the programme.

Buildings where permission is required

Full planning permission, or a different consent altogether, is needed where:

• The building is listed. Listed building consent is required for demolition, and demolishing a listed building without consent is an offence.
• The building is a scheduled monument, where scheduled monument consent applies.
• The building is in a conservation area. Demolition of a building in a conservation area is relevant demolition requiring planning permission, and carrying it out without permission is an offence.
• Permitted development rights have been removed by condition, by an Article 4 direction, or by the terms of a previous permission.

The conservation area point is the one that catches developers on unremarkable buildings. It is not limited to attractive buildings, and a mid twentieth century infill in a conservation area needs permission for its demolition in the same way as a Georgian terrace. Where demolition is proposed, the application needs a Heritage Statement explaining the contribution the building makes to the character and appearance of the area and how the replacement will affect it.

Waste, asbestos and the pre-demolition audit

Demolition triggers duties that sit outside planning and that affect the programme.

An asbestos refurbishment and demolition survey is required before demolition of any building that might contain asbestos, which in practice means anything built or refurbished before 2000. Licensed removal work has its own notification periods, and discovering asbestos after the contractor is on site is expensive.

Materials recovery is increasingly a planning matter as well, particularly where a local plan or a London borough policy applies circular economy requirements. A Pre-redevelopment Audit records what is in the building, what can be reused on site, what can be recovered for reuse elsewhere, and what will go to recycling or disposal. Producing it before demolition is the only way the information can be captured.

Site waste management planning, though the specific regulations were revoked, remains what authorities expect on larger schemes, and the audit feeds directly into it.

Sequencing demolition with the main application

The default instinct is to clear the site early. Resist it.

Demolishing before permission is granted for the replacement creates a gap site with no consented future, which weakens your position in negotiations and can harm the character of a street. Authorities in conservation areas frequently impose a condition preventing demolition until a contract for the redevelopment works has been entered into, precisely to avoid that outcome.

There are counter-arguments. Site investigation may be impossible until the building is down, and an unsafe structure may need removal on its own timetable. Both can be accommodated by partial or phased demolition, or by a condition allowing demolition on a defined trigger.

Ecology is the other sequencing constraint. Buildings support bats and nesting birds, and the legal protection applies regardless of planning status. A bat survey by a licensed ecologist may be needed before any roof is opened up, and the survey season runs through the summer months, so a demolition planned for autumn needs its survey work commissioned in spring.

Check the conservation area boundary and the listing entry, then the planning history for removed rights, then the asbestos position. Only after those three does the Part 11 question arise. You can also see which supporting documents a redevelopment application needs while the demolition route is being settled.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Unauthorised demolition of listed buildings and of buildings in conservation areas is a criminal offence, so 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.