Extending Planning Permission Beyond 3 Years

Most planning permissions in the UK come with a standard condition: you must start development within three years of the permission being granted. If that deadline is missed, the permission expires. So, what can you do if your permission is close to lapsing — or has already expired?

Let’s break down your options and explain what current legislation allows.

What Is the Legislation?

Under Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, most planning permissions are granted with a default three-year time limit. This is the legal framework councils follow.

Before 2013, you could apply for a "renewal" of permission or submit an extension of time application. However, that route was removed. Now, you cannot formally extend a planning permission. Once it expires, it’s gone — unless development has lawfully started.

The only exceptions relate to permissions granted during the COVID-19 period, where temporary extensions were allowed via the Business and Planning Act 2020.

What Do I Do if My Planning Permission Is About to Expire?

If you’re approaching the three-year mark and haven’t started work yet, you’ve got two main choices:

1. Start development before the deadline (see next section).

2. Resubmit a fresh planning application.

There’s no automatic extension anymore, so you need to act in time. If your permission includes pre-commencement conditions (e.g. submitting detailed drawings or reports), those may need to be discharged before starting.

Timings and Permission Types

• Full Planning Permission: Must begin within 3 years of the date of approval.

• Outline Planning Permission: Requires "reserved matters" applications within 3 years, and development must begin within 2 years of the final reserved matters approval.

• Householder Applications: Also limited to 3 years, with no formal way to extend.

Timing is everything. If you’re unsure when your permission was granted or what deadlines apply, check the original decision notice from the council.

Commencing Development

To preserve planning permission, development must have lawfully commenced. This doesn’t mean completing the project — just a legitimate start before the deadline.

Examples of valid commencement:

• Digging foundations

• Laying drains

• Building access roads

It must be more than symbolic. Councils can check if the work meets the legal definition. If done properly, it keeps the permission alive indefinitely, and you can complete the project later.

If in doubt, hire a professional (architect, planner, or solicitor) to confirm you’ve met the criteria.

Resubmitting a Planning Application

If your permission has expired or you didn’t manage to start development in time, you’ll need to submit a new application. This will be assessed under current planning policies, which may have changed since your original approval.

To improve your chances:

• Submit plans that match the original approval (if nothing has changed)

• Reference the expired permission in your new application

• Address any previous conditions or objections

In some cases, you may qualify for a free resubmission if it’s within 12 months of the refusal or expiry and the new application is nearly identical.

Contact the Planning Officer Directly

If you’re struggling to find records through the council's public portal, don’t just rely on automated systems — call or email the planning department directly. A planning officer might be able to dig up archived files or point you to internal systems not accessible to the public.

Look at Historic Planning Committee Reports

Many councils publish past planning committee reports or minutes, which sometimes include summaries of applications going back years. These can help identify planning references or shed light on decisions where full documents are missing.

Use the Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)

If you’re trying to find records that used to be online but have since been removed or the council changed its system, the Wayback Machine (archive.org) can help you browse older versions of council planning portals.

Neighbouring Property Applications

If the records for your property are lost, try checking applications for adjacent or nearby properties. Sometimes these include references to earlier developments, shared access points, or extensions that affected multiple addresses.

Planning Constraints Maps

Some councils provide access to planning constraints maps, which show listed buildings, conservation areas, Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs), and even historical applications. These maps can offer clues about when and why planning permission might have been granted.

Old Estate Agent Listings & Surveys

If the property was sold in recent years, previous listings (Rightmove, Zoopla, estate agent brochures) may include dates of extensions or conversions — often referencing planning permissions. RICS surveys might also include rough dates of alterations that help you target your search.

Freedom of Information (FOI) for Missing Records

If you know there should be a file but the council says it's unavailable or lost, you can submit a formal FOI request asking:

• When the record was last seen

• Why it’s missing

• Whether microfiche or hard copy records exist in archives

You might not recover the file itself, but you could learn why it’s no longer available — and potentially who else holds a copy.