Non material amendment

[dnoble]

I know there's no exact  definition of what constitutes this, and the planning officer was unhelpful/non-committal in his email reply today.

 

Having secured planning consent, if I want to reduce the size of a window, or replace a double french door on the plans with a single door and a window in the same space (with no overlooking implications) am I going to need to apply for a non material amendment (and if so will I have to apply for each changed window at 195 per pop!!)?

 

Its worth noting that the plans I had approved don't actually detail the exact sizes of all the windows involved)

 

[bassanclan]

On the basis of that description I will be an NMA. It will be one fee per application, so get all amendments on one new drawing.

 

However, you could chance your arm and build it without a NMA, the worst case scenario being the council notice it at sign off and make you apply for an NMA

[dnoble]

Thanks for the reply. So it might be worth risking not applying for a NMA if the only downside of them noticing at sign off is you apply after the event? They cant fine you or charge loads more or something?

[Archer]

Be careful if you are thinking of selling the house in the near future. It's unlikely to get picked up but...

[Ferdinand]

If what you want to build is in accordance with what is in your Approved Plans, then it is not an amendment :-).

 

Hopefully your non-specific window size doesn't mismatch with your new intention.

 

They will be more exacting if it is on public view when finished.

[dnoble]

Most of the changes are to widths, spacing and layout of glazing + door facing the private garden at the back so not publicly visible. No plans to sell house in next 10-20 years.

There was a double french door wit another door next to it which seemed like overkill door-wise so latter changed to a window for example

 

[Mr Punter]

If you are outside a conservation area and the elevation is not overlooked I would save the money as the changes are trivial.

[PeterW]

So a NMA is a per application charge not a per item so get them all in in one go. 

 

There is some guidance on this here :

 

http://www.planningofficers.org.uk/downloads/pdf/POS_MWForum_Guidance_NonMaterialMinorAmendments_Final_April2012.pdf

 

Each council usually produces guidance somewhere on their website too. 

 

 

[RichS]

A planning officer unhelpful and non committal, i really find that hard to believe

[Barney12]

If it were me I'd just get on with it. 

Worse case is they'll force you to make a retrospective application. 

[bassanclan]

You also don't know what other minor changes you might decide on part way through the build, so all in all it's probably worth waiting until the end (if necessary at all)

[jamiehamy]

My planning officer has been great - I told him in advance the small changes I wanted to make and he sad they were all NMV - and then told me not to put in an application until we were finished to avoid multiples i.e put everything in one. I don't think there is a fee for it up here. At the end of the day, as long as you've made a reasonable assessment and not trying to pass off an additional storey as a NMV/NMA, then there shouldn't be an issue. 

[Ferdinand]

One other thing to bear in mind is that if they are genuinely minor and do not impact others, and if you are not in a designated area - conservation area, national park etc, then the worst that is likely to happen enforcement wise will be a retrospective application ... which means that you get to keep your minor changes and there is a possibility of having to fill in a form later.

 

Unless there is something that will make a neighbour get narked because you are impacting on them, or you are going over a redline which will challenge the authority of the LPA or are embarrassing them, then you are very likely to be OK.

 

If your Planner visits you may be put on the spot. How likely is the Planner to visit after approval?

 

What was it Ecclesiastes said? "There is no end to the filling in of forms, and too much paperwork will wear you out".(Ch 12:v11, paraphrased-ish.)

 

Judgement call for you. Unless there is an elephant trap somewhere, I would expect to get away with it. You may find yourself having to get a retrospective Certificate of Lawfulness or Indemnity Policy when you sell it. 

 

(Obviously that is just my opinion not advice).

Ferdinand

Edited August 17, 2017 by Ferdinand

[dnoble]

Thanks for the useful and reassuring advice. 

I hate filling in forms, especially  unnecessary ones so I may take a view...