What is Prior Approval in Planning?
Prior Approval is a streamlined planning process allowing certain developments without full permission, subject to council assessment of specific impacts like design, transport, and amenity. This guide explains how it works, when it applies, and what to expect at each stage.
PRIOR APPROVAL
Andrew Ransome
4/26/20267 min read
If you have come across the term "prior approval" and wondered how it differs from a conventional planning application, you are not alone.
Prior approval is an often misunderstood concept in the English planning system — and getting it wrong can have serious consequences.
Prior Approval is a type of planning process that sits between full planning permission and fully permitted development.
This article explains what prior approval is, where it sits within the planning framework, and how the application process works in practice. It also highlights some of the pitfalls that catch developers and landowners out.
The Starting Point: Permitted Development and the GPDO
To understand prior approval, you first need to understand permitted development (PD).
Under section 57 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA90), planning permission is required for any "development" of land.
However, not all development requires you to make an application to your local planning authority (LPA). Section 58 allows planning permission to be granted by a development order — and this is precisely what the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (the GPDO 2015) does.
The GPDO 2015 allows some development for certain categories, described as "permitted development."
So What is Prior Approval?
Many Classes of permitted development come with conditions attached.
One of the most common is a requirement to seek "Prior Approval" from the LPA before the development can begin.
Prior approval is not planning permission.
It applies where development is already granted in principle through permitted development rights, but the local planning authority still needs to assess certain specific impacts before work can go ahead.
This has several important practical consequences:
The principle of the development is already established by the GPDO. The LPA cannot refuse prior approval simply because it dislikes the type of development in question — for example, a change of use from offices to flats.
The LPA can only assess the specific matters listed for prior approval in the relevant Class. These vary by Class but commonly include transport impacts, flood risk, contamination, noise, and — for residential conversions — the provision of adequate natural light in all habitable rooms.
Prior approval is not an application for planning permission, and the development plan does not apply in the same way as it would to a conventional application. As confirmed in R (oao Patel) v SSCLG & Johal & Wandsworth BC [2016], development plan policies may be relevant in prior approval cases, but only insofar as they relate to the matters, and only as evidence to support the planning decision.
Where the GPDO requires the LPA to have regard to the National Planning Policy Framework, it can only be used so far as relevant to the subject matter of the prior approval. It cannot be deployed to frustrate the purpose of the PD right.
When is Prior Approval Required?
Not all PD Classes require prior approval. Some require only a written notification to the LPA. But for the most significant types of permitted development, a formal prior approval application is required before development begins.
The Classes most commonly encountered in practice that require prior approval include:
Class MA — change of use of commercial buildings (Class E) to residential (C3)
Class Q — agricultural buildings to dwellinghouses, read more here
Class R — agricultural buildings to flexible commercial uses, read more here
Class AA (Part 1) — upward extensions to dwellinghouses
Part 6, Class A — larger agricultural buildings
Each has its own specific prior approval matters, procedural requirements, and statutory timescales.
A Hidden Danger: Existing Planning Conditions
Before making a prior approval application — or before assuming that permitted development rights exist at all — you must check whether any existing planning conditions restrict or remove those rights.
Article 3(4) of the GPDO 2015 provides that the planning permission granted by the Order does not apply if the development would be contrary to a condition on an existing planning permission. This is a frequently overlooked trap.
In Dunnett Investments Ltd v SSCLG & East Dorset DC [2017], a condition restricting use to Class B1 (Business) "and for no other purpose whatsoever, without express planning consent from the LPA first being obtained" was found to exclude a grant of permission by the operation of the GPDO.
The court held that the phrase "express planning consent from the LPA" meant permission granted on receipt of a planning application — not permission granted automatically by the Order. The second limb of the condition ("for no other purpose whatsoever") was designed to and did prevent the operation of the GPDO.
The lesson is clear: a condition that restricts the use of land or buildings in sufficiently explicit terms — and which goes beyond merely specifying the permitted use — can strip away PD rights entirely.
When reviewing a site for a potential prior approval application, you must interrogate every condition on every extant permission affecting the site and ask whether it contains "something more" which explicitly or implicitly restricts future development rights.
Article 4 Directions: When Permitted Development Rights Are Removed Entirely
Even where no planning condition restricts your PD rights, an Article 4 Direction may do so.
This is one of the most important checks to carry out before progressing any prior approval application — and it is an area of growing practical significance, particularly for commercial-to-residential conversions.
What is an Article 4 Direction?
Article 4(1) of the GPDO 2015 empowers the Secretary of State or an LPA to direct that the planning permission granted by Article 3 shall not apply to a specified Class of development within a defined area, or to a particular development.
Where an Article 4 Direction is in force, a full planning application is required instead of a prior approval application.
Any prior approval applications made after a Direction comes into effect will be refused, and the applicant will need to obtain express planning permission instead.
The Government's Position
The government has consistently signalled its preference for Article 4 Directions to be used in a limited and targeted way.
Paragraph 54 of the NPPF (as amended) requires that where directions relate to a change from non-residential to residential use, they must be limited to situations where a direction is "necessary to avoid wholly unacceptable adverse impacts," must be "based on robust evidence," and must "apply to the smallest geographical area possible."
Where Article 4 Directions Apply in Practice
There is no single centralised register of all Article 4 Directions in England, which makes site-specific due diligence essential.
The following gives a sense of the current landscape — though the position is constantly evolving as new directions are made and existing ones are modified.
London has seen the most intensive use of Article 4 Directions in the context of commercial-to-residential conversions, with many boroughs, such as, Camden, Islington, Hounslow, City of London etc seeking to protect employment land, town centres, and the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) from uncontrolled conversion.
Several areas ourside of London have also applied Article 4 Directions such as, Crawley, Watford, Harlow, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Norwich etc.
How Does the Prior Approval Application Process Work?
What to Submit
The information required varies by Class, but all prior approval applications under Part 3 must include:
A written description of the proposed development
A floor plan showing the total floor space in square metres of each proposed dwellinghouse, the dimensions and proposed use of each room, the position and dimensions of windows, doors and walls, and the elevations of the dwellinghouses
A statement specifying the net increase in dwellinghouses proposed (required for Classes G, M, MA, N, P, PA and Q)
The correct fee
The statutory period for determination does not begin until all required information has been received. If information is missing, the clock does not start — regardless of when the application was submitted.
In Murrell v SSCLG [2010], the Court of Appeal confirmed that the prior approval procedure "is attended by the minimum of formalities" and that it is not mandatory to use a standard form or provide information beyond that specified in the Order. However, compliance with what the Order does specify is essential.
The Statutory Period
Once a valid application is received, the LPA has a fixed period within which to make its decision. The key periods under Article 7 of the GPDO are:
Part 1, Class A (large rear extensions)42 days
Part 3 (changes of use)56 days
Part 20 (new dwellinghouses)56 days
Part 6, Class A (agricultural buildings)28 days
The period runs from the day after the valid application is received. Extensions however can be agreed in writing between the applicant and the LPA under Article 7(c) of the GPDO.
What Happens if the LPA Fails to Decide a Prior Approval in Time?
For most Classes, if the LPA fails to make and notify a determination within the statutory period, prior approval is deemed to be granted.
The developer may then proceed with the development, provided it is carried out in accordance with the submitted details and is in fact permitted development.
The principle was confirmed in Murrell, where the court found that administrative handling mistakes by the LPA — and even a request for a new form and further plans — did not stop the clock from running.
However, there is a critical qualification. In Keenan, the Court of Appeal held that development cannot become permitted development by default. If the development does not in fact comply with the relevant conditions and limitations of the GPDO — for example, because the building or site does not qualify under the relevant Class — it remains unlawful regardless of the LPA's failure to determine the application in time.
Other Traps to be Aware Of
The building must be lawful
PD rights do not apply where the existing building or its use is unlawful (Article 3(5) GPDO).No commencement before Prior Approval
Prior Approval is a pre-commencement requirement. Starting works early is a breach, and there is no retrospective fix (Winters v SSCLG [2017]).Strict compliance with all limitations
PD rights only apply where every condition and limitation is met in full—there is no tolerance for minor breaches.Planning Obligations
By definition, permitted development is already "generally acceptable in planning terms," so planning obligations are ordinarily not necessary. Any planning obligations entered into should be limited only to matters requiring prior approval and should not seek contributions (e.g., for car free requirements). Permitted development may still be subject to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which requires developers to contact the local planning authority before carrying out work.
Get Prior Approval Planning Advice
If you are considering a project that may benefit from the prior approval route, get in touch for clear, practical advice on your options.
Andrew Ransome MRTPI Email: andrew@adpltd.co.uk | Tel: 01206 242070
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