Section 96A: what counts as a non-material amendment

Section 96A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 lets a local planning authority make a change to an existing planning permission where the change is not material. There is no statutory definition of not material, and that is the point of difficulty. A non-material amendment is whatever the authority decides is non-material on the facts of that permission, having regard to the effect of the change together with any previous changes.

For an architect running a site, the practical question is which of three routes a change belongs in: section 96A, section 73, or a fresh application. Choosing wrong costs weeks.

What section 96A actually does

The section allows an authority to alter a permission it has granted, including by imposing new conditions or removing or altering existing ones, provided the change is not material. The amendment attaches to the original permission. No new permission is created, the original time limit for implementation is unchanged, and the original conditions continue to apply except as amended.

The authority must have regard to the effect of the change together with any previous changes made under the section. Five successive small amendments can therefore become material in combination, which is why a running schedule matters on a long project.

There is no right of appeal against a refusal. If the authority says no, the choice is to accept it, to re-apply differently, or to move to section 73 or a fresh application.

Anyone with an interest in the land can apply. The application uses the standard form, needs the original permission reference, the drawings being superseded and the replacements, and a short justification.

What authorities treat as non-material

Practice varies, and the pattern is reasonably consistent across England.

Changes usually accepted include small dimensional adjustments to a building that do not alter its relationship with boundaries, minor internal alterations, a change of external material to a similar material, repositioning of a window on an elevation that does not face a neighbour, correcting a drawing error, adding a drawing reference to the approved plans list, and small changes to a plot's footprint within an approved layout.

Changes usually refused include anything that increases height or footprint appreciably, new or enlarged windows facing a neighbouring property, changes to the approved access, alterations affecting a protected tree or a listed building's fabric, changes that conflict with the purpose of a condition, and anything that alters the description of development.

Two rules of thumb help. If a neighbour would want to comment on it, it is probably material. If the change would have needed consultation had it been in the original application, it is probably material.

The listed building position is stricter. Section 96A does not apply to listed building consent, so a change to approved works on a listed building needs a fresh consent application even where the equivalent planning change would be non-material.

Minor material amendments and section 73

Where a change is material but modest, the route is section 73, an application to develop land without complying with a condition previously imposed. In practice it is used to vary the approved plans condition, which is how most schemes are amended.

A section 73 decision grants a new planning permission sitting alongside the original, with its own decision notice and its own conditions. The time limit for implementation is that of the original permission. The application is determined against current policy, so a scheme approved under a superseded local plan can be reassessed against the new one.

Two consequences follow. Community Infrastructure Levy liability may be recalculated on the new permission, and any section 106 agreement attached to the original does not automatically bind the new one, so a deed of variation is usually needed.

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 introduced a further route for minor variations. Check whether the relevant provisions are yet in force and how your authority is applying them before relying on that route.

Section 73 is determined in the normal periods, eight weeks for minor development, and it carries a full application fee and consultation. Where the determination period matters to a programme, the difference between 28 days for a non-material amendment and eight weeks for a section 73 is the whole point of getting the categorisation right.

What you submit and how long it takes

For a section 96A submission, include a covering statement that identifies the permission, describes each change, states why each is not material, and lists the superseded and replacement drawings by number and revision. Officers process a clear schedule quickly and query a vague one.

Fees for non-material amendments are set nationally and indexed annually, with a lower figure for householder development. Check the current schedule before you assume.

Changes that always need a fresh application

Some things cannot be amended by either route.

Extending the red line boundary. The application site is defined by the original application, and enlarging it needs a new application.

Changing the description of development. A permission for four dwellings cannot become a permission for five through either route, because section 73 cannot be used to vary the description or to grant permission for something different in substance.

Implementing after expiry. A permission that has lapsed cannot be revived by amendment.

Changes to a permission granted on appeal need care too. The authority can amend an inspector's permission under section 96A, and it is often cautious about doing so, so allow time for a conversation.

Keeping the approved set clear

The commonest problem on site is not the amendment procedure. It is that nobody can say which drawings are approved.

Maintain one schedule listing every drawing number and revision, the permission or amendment that approved it, and the date. Update it every time a decision notice arrives. Issue it to the contractor with each revision.

Where conditions have been discharged, record the discharge reference against the condition number in the same schedule. Building control approvals sit in a separate column, because a change accepted by building control has no planning status at all.

And check the approved plans condition wording on every new decision notice. A section 73 permission that lists drawings by number without revision suffixes creates ambiguity you will be arguing about at handover. A Planning Statement accompanying a variation should set out the drawing schedule explicitly for the same reason.

One honest uncertainty is worth naming. Authorities differ in where they draw the line, and the same change can be accepted as non-material by one council and refused by its neighbour. Where a change is close to the boundary, a short email to the case officer describing it and asking which route they would prefer costs nothing and saves a wasted fee. Officers answer that question willingly, because processing the wrong application wastes their time as well as yours.

To draft the supporting documents for an amendment or a fresh application, browse the report types by category.

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.