Housebuilder Top Tip: NMA to a RMA OK?

Published 27 agosto 2019

In the recent case of Fulford Parish Council v City of York Council, the local authority (York) sought to approve a non-material change to a reserved matters approval. Fulford argued that the local authority did not have the power to approve this change pursuant to section 96A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as that was specific to a planning permission and did not extend to reserved matters approval.

The Court of Appeal disagreed and held that “planning permission” under the Act not only refers to the grant of planning permission, but also to any conditions attaching to it (whether imposed at the time of grant or at a point in time thereafter). An application for an amendment to reserved matters approval is an application for the alteration of an existing condition and as such local authorities have the power  to approve changes to it. Note however, this only applies to non-material changes.

We wait to see whether Fulford will appeal to the Supreme Court but in the meantime, this decision provides much-needed flexibility and pragmatism to the planning system.