What the amendment fee covers
Plans change after approval: a window moves, a chimney is kept, a rear wall steps out by a few hundred millimetres. Our amendment starts at £325 and covers revising the drawings we prepared, marking the changes, and writing the covering statement that explains them to the officer.
It is priced for changes to a set we drew, because we know the survey and the reasoning behind each line. If another designer drew the approved scheme, send it and we quote after reading it.
Which route fits your change
There are two usual routes. A non-material amendment under section 96A lets the council change a permission if satisfied that the change is not material, judged against the permission as granted. The Government's guidance says there is no statutory definition of non-material, so it depends on the scheme as a whole.
A larger change goes by section 73, which varies a condition, such as the approved plans themselves. The result is a new, independent permission. If the change is bigger still, a fresh application is the honest answer, and we say so.
How long each route takes
The council has 28 days to decide a non-material amendment, or longer if agreed in writing. A fresh non-major application has eight weeks once valid. The shorter period is the practical case for trying the amendment first when the change is small.
These are the council's deadlines, not our promises. If the council decides the change is material, the application is refused as an amendment and we revisit the route.
Before you build the change
Building something different from the approved plans, hoping to sort it out later, takes you into retrospective planning territory. It is cheaper, and calmer, to settle the amendment first.
Check also that the permission's conditions still make sense. If the changed design affects a condition about materials or windows, we can handle both together; the cost of that side is on our discharge of conditions page.
Start here
Send the approved drawings, the decision notice and a note of what you want to change. We say which route we would use, the fee and the timing. Learn more on our planning amendment page.
The figures, with sources
28 days
Period for deciding a non-material amendment application, unless longer is agreed in writing.
Source: GOV.UK, Flexible options for planning permissions, checked 25 Oct 2026
s96A
A council may change a permission if satisfied that the change is not material, judged against the original grant.
Source: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 96A, checked 25 Oct 2026
£46
Council charge to make a non-material amendment to a householder permission; £309 for other development.
Source: Ribble Valley Borough Council, national fee table from 1 April 2026, checked 25 Oct 2026
£89
Council charge to vary or remove a condition on a householder permission under section 73.
Source: Ribble Valley Borough Council, national fee table from 1 April 2026, checked 25 Oct 2026
No definition
Planning law does not define a non-material change, so each case is judged on the scheme as a whole.
Source: GOV.UK, Flexible options for planning permissions, checked 25 Oct 2026
8 weeks
Period for deciding a new application for a non-major scheme once valid.
Source: Development Management Procedure Order 2015, article 34, checked 15 Oct 2026
Questions
Can I just build the change and apply later?
You can, but you take the risk that the council refuses and enforces. Settling it beforehand is usually cheaper and calmer.
Will you amend drawings another designer made?
Yes, after we have read them. The fixed fee is for drawings we prepared; for others we quote after seeing the set.
What happens if the council finds the change material?
Then the amendment route is closed and we move to a section 73 variation or a fresh application, and tell you the cost first.
Does the council fee depend on the size of the change?
No. The national table sets one fee for a non-material amendment to a householder permission, and a different one for other development.
The fee for planning amendment
What you get
- Revised drawings with every change marked
- A covering statement written for the officer
- Advice on the route: amendment, section 73 or new
- The application prepared and submitted for you
- Officer queries answered within five working days
