Prior notification of demolition and what it covers

Prior notification of demolition is the procedure under Part 11 of the General Permitted Development Order by which a developer asks the council whether it wants to approve the method of demolition and the restoration of the site. The principle of demolishing the building is not in question. What the authority controls is how the work is carried out and what the site looks like afterwards, which is why the process is quick compared with a planning application and why it catches people out when it does not apply.

When demolition counts as development

Demolition is a building operation, so it falls within the meaning of development in section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. That is the starting point, and it surprises people who assume that taking something down needs less consent than putting it up.

The Act then allows the Secretary of State to direct that the demolition of specified descriptions of building is not development at all. A direction does exactly that for a range of small structures, which is why nobody applies for anything before taking down a garden shed.

Where the demolition is development, Part 11 of Schedule 2 to the Order grants permitted development rights for it, subject to conditions. So the sequence to work through is: is it development, is it permitted development under Part 11, and does a condition require a prior approval application.

What Part 11 Class B permits

Class B permits any building operation consisting of the demolition of a building, subject to limitations and conditions. A separate class deals with gates, fences, walls and other means of enclosure.

The main limitation removes the right 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 by temporary support. In plain terms, you cannot neglect a building into a dangerous state and then rely on permitted development to clear the site. Councils take that seriously in conservation areas and on buildings that have been the subject of enforcement interest.

The condition that matters is the requirement to apply to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether prior approval will be required for the method of demolition and any proposed restoration of the site. That application, rather than the demolition itself, is what most people mean by prior notification.

What the authority may control

Two things only: the method of demolition and the restoration of the site. Nothing else is within the scope of the determination.

Method covers the sequence of works, the plant to be used, how the structure will be taken down in relation to adjoining property and the highway, hoarding, dust and noise control, working hours and traffic management. Restoration covers what the site will look like when the building has gone, including levelling, boundary treatment, capping of services and any temporary landscaping or securing of the site.

Amenity concerns outside those two headings are not grounds for refusal, and neither is the loss of the building itself. That is the hard edge of the procedure for objectors, and it is why the conservation area rules matter so much.

Where demolition forms part of a larger construction operation, the same content belongs in the construction management documents, and the report types index sets out where those sit in a wider submission.

Buildings and structures outside the requirement

Several categories fall away before the prior approval question arises.

• Small buildings below the threshold set in the ministerial direction, which is why sheds, small outbuildings and modest structures need nothing.
• Most gates, fences, walls and other means of enclosure below the specified heights.
• Internal demolition that does not affect the external appearance of the building, which is not development at all.
• Buildings whose demolition is required by a statutory notice, which is dealt with by a separate class.

Partial demolition is the awkward case. Taking the rear half off a building is demolition of part of a building, and where the remaining works need planning permission anyway, the demolition is usually dealt with as part of that application rather than separately. Where a facade is being retained, the structural temporary works become the substance of the method statement.

Conservation areas and listed buildings

This is where the procedure stops being a formality. Demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area is relevant demolition, and it requires planning permission rather than prior notification. Carrying it out without permission is a criminal offence, not merely a breach of planning control.

Listed buildings need listed building consent for demolition in whole or in part, including works within the curtilage where the structures are treated as part of the listing. The question of what falls within the curtilage is not always obvious and is set out in the note on curtilage in planning and listed building law.

Scheduled monuments need scheduled monument consent from the relevant national body, which is a separate regime again. And a building may be locally listed, which does not carry statutory protection but does engage development plan policy and may prompt the council to consider spot listing or an Article 4 direction. A request for immediate listing while a demolition notice is in play is a real risk on a building of any local interest.

Check all three designations at the outset. A demolition begun on a building that turns out to be listed is not curable.

What to submit and how long to wait

The application is short. It needs a written description of the proposed demolition, a plan of the site, the fee, and evidence that a notice has been displayed on the site describing the proposed development, so that neighbours know what is coming.

The council then either notifies you that prior approval is not required, or gives its approval, or refuses. Work may not start until one of those has happened or until the statutory period has elapsed without the authority giving notice that approval is required. Read the current wording of the condition for the period, because the Order has been amended and the procedural detail sits in the class rather than in general provisions.

Two practical points. The site notice has to stay up for the stated period, so photograph it with a date. And where the authority does require approval, the method statement you submit becomes the approved method, so write it so the demolition contractor can actually work to it.

Asbestos, building control and other parallel duties

Planning is one of several consents, and the others run on their own timetables.

1. Notice to the local authority under the Building Act before demolition begins, for most buildings, with the authority able to serve a counter notice setting requirements about shoring, sealing services, weatherproofing exposed surfaces and making good the site. The period for that counter notice is six weeks, which is often longer than the planning side and therefore governs the programme.
2. An asbestos survey appropriate to demolition, carried out before work is planned rather than after, under the asbestos regulations.
3. Construction design and management duties, including appointment of a principal designer and principal contractor and preparation of the pre-construction information.
4. Party wall notices where the demolition affects a party structure or involves excavation near a neighbour's foundations.
5. Ecology. Bats roost in roofs and nesting birds are protected during the breeding season, so a preliminary roost assessment before the scaffold goes up is cheaper than stopping work in June.
6. Utility disconnections, which have long lead times and are frequently the reason a demolition slips.

Anyone accustomed to separate consent regimes will recognise the pattern, which is the same discipline described for hazardous substances consent and HSE consultation zones: check every regime before committing to a date.

Where full planning permission is needed instead

Prior notification is not available where the building sits in a conservation area, where it is listed, where the right has been removed by an Article 4 direction, or where the building has been allowed to fall into a dangerous state by its owner.

It is also the wrong instrument where demolition and rebuilding form a single scheme. In that case the demolition is described within the planning application, the officer assesses it in the round, and the condition about method and restoration is imposed on the permission rather than determined separately. That route takes longer and gives a cleaner consent position, particularly where a purchaser or a funder will later review the title.

PlanScope drafts the supporting statements and construction management documents around a demolition and redevelopment scheme, flagging the surveys and site facts that have to be confirmed. Enter your postcode to see which reports the project 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. A lawful development certificate is the only formal way to confirm that works are lawful. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.