Revocation or modification of a planning permission
Implementation defeats revocation, and compensation for depreciation in land value is why authorities rarely make these orders. The confirmation procedure, the objection route and the sequence to follow.
A local planning authority can revoke or modify a planning permission it has granted, under section 97 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, where it appears expedient to do so having regard to the development plan and other material considerations. The power is real, it is rarely used, and the reason is money: revocation triggers a compensation liability that most authorities cannot absorb.
For a consultant advising a client whose permission is under threat, the useful questions are narrow. Has the permission been implemented? Is the order opposed? And what would compensation come to?
The power to revoke or modify
Section 97 allows the authority to make an order revoking a permission outright or modifying it to such extent as it considers expedient. Modification is the less drastic version and can include altering or adding conditions.
The test is expediency judged against the development plan and material considerations, which is a wide discretion rather than a narrow jurisdictional question. An authority that has changed its policy position, or that granted permission on a mistaken factual basis, is within the statutory language.
An order does not take effect on being made. It requires confirmation, and the confirmation procedure is where most orders stop.
Limits on when it can be exercised
Section 97(3) contains the practical answer to most threatened revocations. The power cannot be exercised, so far as it relates to building or other operations, after those operations have been carried out. And it cannot be exercised in relation to a change of use after the change has taken place.
So implementation defeats revocation, and partial implementation protects what has been done. The lawfulness of what has already been carried out is unaffected, and the order can reach only what remains.
That makes the timing of a material operation under section 56 of the Act the single most important fact in the file. Where a client holds a permission that an authority has signalled it may revoke, and the permission is capable of lawful implementation, starting work is a defensive step as well as a commercial one.
One caution. A material operation has to be a real one carried out in accordance with the permission and after any pre-commencement condition is discharged. A trench dug in breach of a pre-commencement condition may not count, which is a separate argument worth resolving before relying on it.
Confirmation procedure and objections
Section 98 governs confirmation. The authority must serve notice of the order on the owner and occupier of the land and on any other person who in its opinion will be affected, specifying a period within which they may require an opportunity to be heard.
Where anyone takes that opportunity, the order goes to the Secretary of State for confirmation, and a hearing before an inspector follows. The Secretary of State may confirm the order with or without modification, or decline to confirm it.
Where the order is unopposed, section 99 provides an expedited route. The authority advertises the order and serves notice, and if no objection is made within the stated period the authority may confirm the order itself without reference to the Secretary of State.
The practical consequence is that an objection converts a straightforward administrative act into a contested process with a hearing, a decision by a national body and a compensation claim at the end of it. Objecting is almost always the right first move, and it should be done within the stated period in writing, reserving the right to be heard.
Compensation and why it deters use of the power
Section 107 provides compensation where a permission is revoked or modified. Two heads of claim: expenditure on work carried out which is rendered abortive by the order, including preparation of plans and similar matters, and any other loss or damage directly attributable to the revocation or modification.
The second head is the one that frightens authorities, because it extends to depreciation in the value of the land. A residential permission revoked on a site bought at permissioned value can generate a claim measured in the difference between permissioned and unpermissioned value, which on any site of scale is a sum no planning department has budgeted for.
Claims are made to the authority within a period prescribed by regulations, and disputes are determined by the Upper Tribunal. Take advice on the claim period early, because it is short relative to the time a client will spend deciding what to do.
Quantify the claim before the confirmation stage and tell the authority what it is. An authority weighing expediency against a quantified seven-figure liability usually finds another route, and informing it of the figure is a legitimate part of resisting the order rather than a threat.
Revocation by consent
The power is occasionally used the other way round, at the request of the person holding the permission. An unwanted permission can be awkward: it may affect the levy position on a later scheme, complicate a title, or sit inconsistently with a fresh application.
Since a planning permission cannot simply be surrendered or abandoned, an order under section 97 made by agreement and confirmed under the unopposed procedure is the clean mechanism for removing one. There is no compensation issue because the person entitled to claim is the person who asked for the order.
Where a planning obligation is tied to the permission, deal with it at the same time. A deed of variation or release under section 106A is the corresponding instrument, as our note on deeds of variation under section 106A explains. Levy liability needs checking too, since reliefs and exemptions work on their own conditions, as the self-build exemption illustrates.
Alternatives authorities use instead
Because of the compensation exposure, authorities reach for other tools:
- refusing subsequent applications for amendments, discharge of conditions or reserved matters
- declining to agree an extension of time, so the permission expires unimplemented
- enforcement where any part of the development breaches a condition
- an Article 4 direction, which removes permitted development rights rather than a permission, with its own more limited compensation regime
- a discontinuance order under section 102, requiring a use to stop or buildings to be altered or removed, with compensation under the Act
The discontinuance order is the one most often confused with revocation. It addresses uses and buildings that are already there, rather than permissions not yet implemented, and it carries its own compensation liability. Authorities use it even more rarely.
Following how these powers are being used and reformed is part of the job, and the planning law updates timeline is a place to watch for changes.
What a developer should do if threatened
A sequence, in order:
- Establish precisely what the permission authorises and whether any part has been implemented, with dated evidence.
- Check whether a material operation has taken place and whether every pre-commencement condition was discharged first.
- Where lawful implementation is available and commercially sensible, implement.
- Object within the period stated in the notice, in writing, and require an opportunity to be heard.
- Instruct a valuer to quantify the section 107 claim, and tell the authority the figure.
- Ask the authority, in writing, what material change in circumstances it relies on, since expediency has to be justified rather than asserted.
- Consider whether a negotiated modification, with a variation of the planning obligation, achieves what the authority wants at a cost everybody can live with.
Step seven resolves more of these than steps four and five, because an authority making an order usually has a specific concern rather than a general objection, and a modification agreed by consent costs it nothing.
The supporting narrative for any negotiated position belongs in a Planning Statement rather than in correspondence.
This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
Frequently asked questions
Can a council revoke a permission after work has started?
Only in respect of what has not yet been done. Section 97(3) prevents the power being exercised in relation to building or other operations after those operations have been carried out, or in relation to a change of use after the change has taken place. Partial implementation therefore protects what has already been built.
Does a revocation order take effect immediately?
No. It requires confirmation. The authority serves notice on owners, occupiers and others it considers affected, who may require an opportunity to be heard. Where anyone does, the order goes to the Secretary of State for confirmation after a hearing. An unopposed order can be confirmed by the authority itself.
What compensation is payable?
Section 107 covers expenditure on work rendered abortive by the order, including preparation of plans, and any other loss or damage directly attributable to the revocation or modification. The second head extends to depreciation in land value, which is why orders on sites bought at permissioned value are so rarely made.
Can I ask for my own permission to be revoked?
Yes. Because a planning permission cannot simply be surrendered or abandoned, an order under section 97 made by agreement and confirmed through the unopposed procedure is the clean way to remove an unwanted permission. No compensation issue arises, since the person entitled to claim is the person requesting the order.
How is a discontinuance order different?
A discontinuance order under section 102 requires an existing use to stop, or buildings to be altered or removed, so it addresses development already on the ground rather than a permission not yet implemented. It carries its own compensation liability and authorities use it even less often than revocation.
What should I do first if an order is threatened?
Establish what the permission authorises and whether any part has been lawfully implemented, with dated evidence, and check whether a material operation has taken place after every pre-commencement condition was discharged. Where lawful implementation is available and makes commercial sense, implementing puts the operations beyond the power.
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.