After your application has been determined

Once you have received your decision, you should consult the information below to ascertain if there is anything else you must do before proceeding with your development. If you have had your application refused, the information under Refusals and Appeals may be of interest.

Approval of details reserved by condition

Most planning approvals contain some planning conditions. Conditions are used to ensure that development that may not be considered acceptable, can be approved subject to certain criteria. These criteria are detailed in conditions. Some conditions require you to submit details about particular aspects of the development to the local planning authority and others restrict certain things you can do as part of the development. The approval of details reserved by conditions is also known as 'discharging conditions'.

A typical condition requiring the submission of further details may read

'Details of the glazing to be used on the ground floor rear window should be submitted to and approved in writing by the Executive Director, Planning and Borough Development prior to the commencement of the development'.

A typical condition restricting things you can do as part of the development may read

'The roof of the rear extension hereby approved shall not be used at any time as a roof terrace without the prior approval of the Executive Director, Planning and Borough Development'.

Any condition that requires the submission of details must be 'discharged' in accordance with the wording of the condition. In most cases this is prior to the commencement of the entire development. Occasionally, some conditions can be discharged prior to the relevant part of the development taking place. Please consult your decision notice for the exact wording of your conditions.

In order to discharge a planning condition, you must submit the details, along with a completed application form and the appropriate fee to the planning department. All discharge of conditions incur a fee with the exception of conditions imposed on listed building consents and conservation area consent applications. It may take up to 8 weeks to receive a decision on a discharge of condition application.

You can discharge more than one planning condition at a time as long as you make it clear on your application form which conditions you are discharging. In addition, you must provide the relevant details required for each condition. A fee is payable per discharge of condition application. Therefore, if you put all the conditions that need to be discharged on one application, you only need to pay one fee. However, if you choose to discharge the conditions at different times then you must pay for each request.

The fees for discharge of condition applications are the following

  • discharge of conditions attached to householder applications - £25 per request
  • discharge of conditions attached to non-householder applications - £85 per request

Amendments to an application

If once you have had your proposal approved you decide you wish to make changes to the scheme, you can apply for amendments to the development. If the changes you wish to make are considered to be minor, or non-material, you can submit an application for non-material amendments. There is no set definition of non-material and ultimately it is for the Council to decide whether what you are proposing can be treated as such or whether it would require the submission of a new application.

There is no statutory definition of non-material, but we may well reject an application for a non-material amendment if (this list is not exhaustive):

  • there were any relevant objections to the original proposal, or
  • if an amendment increases the size of any part of the development, or
  • the amendment significantly alters the appearance of what was approved, or
  • locates any part of the development significantly closer to a neighbour, or
  • changes windows in any elevation facing a neighbour in a way which increases overlooking in any way, or
  • would result in a greater visual intrusion to neighbours, or
  • would result in the need for additional conditions

Applications for non-material amendments will not be the subject of publicity.

If changes to an application cannot be considered to be non-material then you must submit a new application. The application will have to be submitted in its entirety and all aspects, including those that are to remain as approved, will be considered again.

Post application advice

For some applications, particularly the larger, more complex ones, we offer advice post determination on how to meet imposed conditions. This is chargeable at a flat fee of £500 and payment is required in advance. This fee will cover any preparatory work for a meeting, a meeting of up to two hours and any necessary follow up work by officers.

Planning Enforcement

If you think a development may not be being constructed in accordance with the approved plans, you can refer the matter to our planning enforcement team. This team will investigate possible breaches of planning control.

Obtaining copies of determined plans and decision notices

Plans and decision notices from 1947 up until 1995 are available on Microfiche records at the Town Hall. These can be viewed during normal office hours. There is no need for an appointment. There is a charge of 15p per sheet for printing microfiche copies.

Plans and decision notices from 1995 until 1999 inclusive are available as scanned files at the Town Hall. These can be viewed during normal office hours. There is no need for an appointment. There is a charge of 15p per A4 sheet and 50p per A3 sheet for printing copies of scanned files.

Plans and decision notices from 2000 to present day are available on the Council’s website. Please click on the link below to search for an application.

Alternatively, you can request copies of decision notices and plans from the Council. These requests should be made in writing to the address below or emailed to planning@rbkc.gov.uk. There is a charge for the Council providing this information. Please see our Schedule of Charges for up to date charges. You will be invoiced for the documents provided.

  • Schedule of Charges 2012/13 [PDF file] (file size 75kb)
  • Postal address: Records department, Planning and Borough Development, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 7NX

Plans, drawings and other material submitted to the Council are protected by the Copyright Acts (Section 47, 1988 Act). You may only use material which is downloaded and/or printed for consultation purposes, to compare current applications with previous schemes and to check whether developments have been completed in accordance with approved plans. Further copies must not be made without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

Please be aware that the planning department will only have copies of plans if a planning application has been submitted. The Planning department does not hold plans for every property in the borough.