Part 11 demolition: prior approval of method and restoration
Part 11 permits demolition subject to prior approval of the method and the restoration of the site. What to submit, how the 28 day period works, and the Building Act notice that runs alongside.
Demolition prior approval under Part 11 is a short procedure with a hard stop in it: apply to the council for a determination on the method of demolition and the proposed restoration of the site, display a site notice, and do not start until you have an answer or 28 days have run. Start early and you have carried out unauthorised development on a site you are about to build on, which is a poor way to open a discussion with a case officer.
The rights sit in Part 11 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. They are narrow, they carry conditions, and they interact with a separate notice regime under the Building Act 1984 that a lot of developers discover a week before they want the machines on site.
What Part 11 permits and what it leaves out
Part 11 grants permission for the demolition of a building, and separately for the demolition of gates, fences, walls and other means of enclosure. That is the whole of the planning permission. It does not grant permission for anything you intend to put in its place.
Several things fall outside the right. Demolition is not permitted where the building has been rendered unsafe or uninhabitable by the action or inaction of anyone with an interest in the land, and where it would be practicable to secure safety or health by repair or temporary support. That exclusion exists to stop deliberate neglect being rewarded, and conservation officers use it.
Listed buildings need listed building consent, and scheduled monuments need scheduled monument consent. Neither is a planning matter and neither can be dealt with under Part 11.
The other exclusion catches people. Demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area is relevant demolition under section 196D of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and needs planning permission. Carrying it out without permission is a criminal offence, not merely a breach of control. If any part of the site is in a conservation area, check the boundary on the council's mapping before you plan anything, and read the position on designated land generally in permitted development on article 2(3) land.
Dwellinghouses, adjoining buildings and the demolition direction
Whether demolition is development at all depends on the direction in force under section 55(2)(g) of the 1990 Act.
The effect of the current direction is that demolishing most buildings is not development, while demolishing a dwellinghouse, or a building adjoining a dwellinghouse, is. Very small buildings and most walls and fences below stated heights are also outside the definition. So a detached warehouse in the middle of an industrial estate is usually a different question from a terraced house or a workshop attached to one.
That distinction decides whether you need the Part 11 route at all. Check the direction as it currently stands rather than relying on a note in an old report, because the wording has been amended and the practical answer turns on the exact building.
Where demolition is urgent because of health and safety, the position is different again. You notify the authority as soon as reasonably practicable and describe what was done and why. Do not treat that as a general shortcut. The threshold is genuine urgency and the council will ask for evidence.
What goes in the prior approval application
The application is deliberately light. A written description of the proposed demolition, the address of the site, the applicant's contact details, the fee, and enough material to let the authority judge the method and the restoration.
In practice a submission that gets a clean answer contains more than the minimum:
- A site location plan with the building to be demolished outlined and the retained structures identified.
- A method statement describing sequence, plant, and whether demolition is mechanical, by hand, or both.
- Hoarding, scaffolding and public protection arrangements, with the footway and highway interface shown.
- Dust suppression and noise control measures, with working hours proposed.
- Wheel washing and haul route details where lorries will use residential streets.
- A description of the restored site condition: levels, surfacing, boundary treatment, security fencing.
The council cannot refuse prior approval because it dislikes the principle of demolition. Its jurisdiction is the method and the restoration. Submissions fail when they answer a different question, usually by describing the redevelopment scheme instead of the demolition works.
Where the building is being stripped before demolition, a Pre-redevelopment Audit records what materials and components exist and what can be reclaimed, which is increasingly asked for by policy and is useful evidence for the restoration section.
The 28 day period and what happens when it expires
Three outcomes end the waiting period, and you may begin on any of them.
The authority writes to say prior approval is not required. The authority gives prior approval, usually with conditions on hours, dust and the restored condition. Or 28 days pass from the date the application was received without the authority notifying you of a determination, in which case you may proceed in accordance with the details submitted.
That third outcome is not a licence to do something other than what you described. Deemed consent attaches to the submitted particulars, so a vague method statement produces a vague consent that is hard to rely on later. Write it as though a purchaser's solicitor will read it, because one will.
The site notice matters. A notice describing the proposed demolition must be displayed on or near the site for a period within the 28 days, and the council can treat a missing notice as a defect. Photograph the notice in position with a dated image on the day it goes up and the day it comes down.
Restoration of the site after clearance
Restoration is the part applicants under-describe, and it is half the authority's remit.
Say what the site will look like when the machines leave. Ground levels relative to the highway and to neighbouring land. Whether foundations and slabs are being grubbed up or left. Surfacing, whether that is crushed arisings, topsoil or hardstanding. Boundary treatment and the height and type of security fencing. Drainage of the cleared site, because a slab removal that blocks an existing drain creates standing water and a complaint.
Where redevelopment follows immediately, say so and give the expected interval. Authorities are more relaxed about a temporary surface where a building contract is already let than about a site that may sit open for two years.
The Building Act notice that runs alongside
Planning prior approval does not replace the notice required under section 80 of the Building Act 1984. This is the single most common programme error on demolition.
Notice must be given to the local authority, and to the occupiers of adjacent buildings, the gas and electricity suppliers, before demolition begins. The authority then has a period in which to serve a counter-notice under section 81 specifying requirements: shoring adjacent buildings, weatherproofing exposed surfaces, sealing sewers and drains, removing rubbish, disconnecting services, and making good. Demolition must not begin before the counter-notice period has run or the notice has been served.
Some demolitions are outside section 80, including internal demolition, small buildings below a stated cubic content, and certain agricultural buildings and greenhouses. Confirm the position with building control rather than assuming.
Run the two processes in parallel from day one. They are separate teams in the same building and neither will chase the other for you.
Asbestos, CDM and the duties that survive planning
Planning consent says nothing about how safely the work is done, and the duties that do are not optional.
A refurbishment and demolition asbestos survey is required before demolition of any building likely to contain asbestos, which in practice means most buildings constructed or refurbished before 2000. Licensed work must be notified to the Health and Safety Executive in advance and carried out by a licensed contractor.
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply to demolition as they do to construction. That means a client, a principal designer and a principal contractor, a construction phase plan, and notification where the project exceeds the stated thresholds.
Site management commitments made in the prior approval application should be consistent with the Construction Management Plan submitted for the redevelopment, and with any temporary buildings brought on site under Part 4 Class A for site huts. Two documents describing different working hours for the same site is an easy thing to avoid and an awkward thing to explain.
Browse the PlanScope report types to see which documents a demolition and redevelopment programme is likely to need.
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
Do I need planning permission to demolish a building?
It depends on the building. Under the direction in force, demolishing most buildings is not development at all, while demolishing a dwellinghouse or a building adjoining a dwellinghouse is. Where it is development, Part 11 usually permits it subject to prior approval of the method and restoration. Demolition in a conservation area needs planning permission.
How long does demolition prior approval take?
The authority has 28 days from receipt of the application. You may begin once it confirms prior approval is not required, once it gives approval, or once the 28 days expire without a determination being notified to you. Deemed consent attaches only to the particulars you submitted, so describe the works precisely.
Can the council refuse permission to demolish?
Under Part 11 its jurisdiction is limited to the method of demolition and the proposed restoration of the site, not the principle. It can refuse prior approval of an inadequate method statement or restoration scheme. Demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area is a different matter entirely and needs planning permission.
What is a section 80 notice?
It is the notice required under section 80 of the Building Act 1984 before demolition begins, given to the local authority and to adjacent occupiers and utility suppliers. The authority may then serve a counter-notice under section 81 requiring shoring, weatherproofing, sealing drains and making good. It is separate from planning prior approval and runs on its own timetable.
Is an asbestos survey required before demolition?
A refurbishment and demolition survey is needed before demolishing any building likely to contain asbestos, which in practice covers most buildings built or refurbished before 2000. Licensed removal work must be notified to the Health and Safety Executive in advance and carried out by a licensed contractor under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
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.