Planning conditions
Planning permission is rarely the end of it. Most approvals arrive with conditions attached, and drainage conditions are among the most common — and the most likely to stop you starting on site, because so many of them are worded “no development shall commence until…”.
Below are the conditions we are asked to discharge most often, in the wording local planning authorities in England typically use, with what each one actually requires. If you have a condition in front of you, send us the wording and the planning reference and we will tell you what is needed, exactly what is needed.
Surface water drainage scheme
“No development shall commence until a detailed surface water drainage scheme for the site, based on sustainable drainage principles and an assessment of the hydrological and hydrogeological context of the development, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall subsequently be implemented in accordance with the approved details before the development is completed.”
This is the most common drainage condition in England and the one that most often delays a start on site. Discharging it needs a drainage strategy showing where surface water goes, how much is stored, and at what rate it leaves the site.
What it usually requires:
- Percolation testing to BRE 365, where infiltration is proposed — the phrase “hydrogeological context” is asking for an infiltration rate
- Drainage calculations for the required return periods, with a climate change allowance the lead local flood authority accepts
- A drainage layout showing pipe runs, storage, controls and outfall
- Evidence that the drainage hierarchy was followed, and why higher options were discounted
- The agreed discharge rate, where the site is not infiltrating
Related: drainage design · SuDS reports · percolation testing
Foul water drainage
“No development shall commence until a scheme for the disposal of foul water drainage has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The approved scheme shall be implemented in full before the dwelling is first occupied.”
Straightforward where a public foul sewer is available and the connection can be evidenced. Where it is not, the condition usually pulls in a foul drainage assessment — form FDA1 — and a package treatment plant or septic tank designed to the relevant standards, with its own discharge arrangement.
Drainage maintenance and management
“No development shall commence until a management and maintenance plan for the sustainable drainage system, covering the lifetime of the development, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.”
Frequently attached alongside the surface water condition and just as frequently overlooked, because it is easy to assume the drainage design covers it. It does not. This one asks who owns each element, who inspects it, how often, and what happens over the lifetime of the development. It is quick to produce alongside the design and slow to produce afterwards.
Verification before occupation
“Prior to first occupation, a verification report carried out by a qualified drainage engineer shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, to demonstrate that the sustainable drainage system has been constructed in accordance with the approved scheme.”
This one bites at the end of a project rather than the beginning, and it catches people out because it is a separate submission from the design. It confirms what was built matches what was approved, usually with photographs during construction, as-built levels and confirmation of the control device. Photographs taken as the drainage goes in are far easier than exposing it again later.
Flood risk assessment measures
“The development shall be carried out in accordance with the submitted Flood Risk Assessment and the mitigation measures detailed within it. The measures shall be fully implemented prior to occupation and thereafter retained.”
Often paired with a finished floor level condition setting a minimum level in metres above ordnance datum. Where an FRA was submitted with the application, this condition binds you to what it said — so the assessment needs to be right at submission rather than optimistic.
Related: flood risk assessments
Highway and access conditions
“No dwelling shall be occupied until the estate road serving it has been constructed to at least base course level, and until the vehicular access, turning and parking areas have been laid out in accordance with the approved plans.”
Highway conditions run alongside a separate agreement with the highway authority rather than replacing it — Section 38 for roads to be adopted, Section 278 for works to the existing highway, Section 184 for a vehicle crossing. Discharging the planning condition and getting technical approval are two different processes running in parallel.
Related: highway design · the Section 38 process
How long does discharging a condition take?
Two clocks run, and only one of them is yours. How long producing the information takes depends on the site, and we will tell you when we quote. The authority then has a statutory period of eight weeks to determine a discharge of conditions application, though many determine sooner.
The practical consequence is that a pre-commencement condition needs starting well before you want to be on site. The most common reason a start slips is not that the design was slow — it is that the condition was noticed late.
Send us the wording
If you have a decision notice with a drainage condition on it, the quickest route is to send us the condition wording and the planning reference. We will tell you which of the above it is and what it needs.
If your scheme discharges to a ditch, brook or culvert, you may also need ordinary watercourse consent — a separate consent from planning that is easy to miss.
If a condition has already been attached to your permission, what to do when you receive a drainage condition covers the steps from decision notice to discharge.