Pre-Commencement & Pre-Occupation Drainage Conditions • LLFA Approval

Drainage Condition Discharge Detailed Design to Discharge Your Condition

Got a planning condition holding up your start on site — “no development until drainage details are approved”? We prepare the detailed drainage design and formal submission to discharge it, and handle the LLFA’s queries.

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Pre-commencement conditions
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Detailed drainage design
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LLFA submission & liaison
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SuDS & maintenance plan
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England & Wales

Discharging Surface Water Drainage Conditions

Most planning permissions for anything but the smallest schemes carry a surface water drainage condition — typically pre-commencement (“no development shall begin until…”) or pre-occupation. Until it is formally discharged by the LPA on the advice of the LLFA, you cannot lawfully build or occupy, and starting work in breach of a pre-commencement condition can invalidate the permission.

We read the exact condition wording, prepare the detailed drainage design and supporting calculations it asks for, and make the formal discharge of conditions submission on your behalf — then deal with any LLFA technical queries through to approval. If the condition was imposed because your original strategy was outline only, we take it through to the detailed design the LLFA needs to sign it off.

What We Deliver

  • ✓ Condition interpreted — we tell you precisely what the LLFA needs to see to discharge it
  • ✓ Detailed drainage design — layout, pipe sizing, levels, SuDS components and discharge arrangement
  • ✓ Runoff & storage calculations — greenfield rates and attenuation to the 1 in 100-year plus climate change via UKSuDS / Causeway
  • ✓ SuDS management & maintenance plan — included where the condition requires it
  • ✓ Formal submission — discharge of conditions application prepared and lodged with the LPA
  • ✓ LLFA liaison — we respond to consultee queries and negotiate to approval
Drainage pipework Construction and drainage works Surface water on a development site

Common Drainage Conditions We Discharge

Send us your decision notice and condition number — we’ll quote within 24 hours.

Pre-Commencement Surface Water

“No development until a detailed surface water drainage scheme has been submitted to and approved…” — the most common, and the one that stops you starting.

Pre-Occupation / Verification

Conditions requiring the approved drainage to be built and verified before occupation, often with an as-built / completion statement.

SuDS Maintenance Condition

A requirement to submit a management and maintenance plan for the lifetime of the development. See our maintenance plan service.

Infiltration Testing Condition

Conditions requiring infiltration to be tested to BRE 365 before the detailed design is approved — we arrange the soakaway testing too.

Foul Drainage Condition

Where the condition covers foul as well as surface water, including non-mains drainage — see our foul drainage assessment.

Restricted Discharge Rate

Conditions fixing the discharge to greenfield or an agreed rate, which we evidence with greenfield runoff calculations.

How Drainage Conditions Are Discharged

Turning an approved scheme into a fully detailed one the LLFA will sign off.

Planning permission is often granted with conditions requiring a detailed surface water (and sometimes foul) drainage scheme to be submitted and approved before work starts. Discharging these conditions means giving the Lead Local Flood Authority a design it can approve first time — detailed calculations, drawings and a maintenance plan, all consistent with the outline strategy that got permission. Poor or inconsistent submissions are the main cause of delay.

What the LLFA needs to see

Hydraulic calculations for the 1 in 1, 30 and 100-year events plus climate change, greenfield run-off, attenuation and flow-control design, a drainage layout drawing with levels and cover/invert details, and any infiltration test results.

Typical conditions we discharge

Surface water drainage scheme, foul drainage, SuDS maintenance and management, construction surface water management, and drainage verification/as-built conditions.

Getting it approved first time

We check the design against the LLFA's own standards and the approved strategy before submitting, and deal with any queries directly with the drainage officer to avoid a refusal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ‘discharging a condition’ mean?
It means formally satisfying a planning condition by submitting the information it requires and obtaining the LPA’s written approval. For drainage conditions that approval is given on the advice of the Lead Local Flood Authority.
How long does it take?
The design and submission are usually ready within 5–10 working days. The LPA then has a statutory period (typically up to 8 weeks) to determine it, though LLFA sign-off is often quicker when the submission is complete and correct first time.
I’ve already started on site — is that a problem?
Possibly. Breaching a pre-commencement (“condition precedent”) condition can render the works unauthorised. Talk to us early — we can often resolve it quickly by getting the details approved, and advise on the right route with your planning consultant.
Do you deal with the LLFA for me?
Yes. We make the submission and handle the technical back-and-forth with the LLFA consultee through to approval, so you don’t have to.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the size of the scheme and whether infiltration testing is needed. We give a fixed-fee quote within 24 hours of seeing your condition wording and site.
How long does it take to discharge a drainage condition?
The LLFA and LPA typically have eight weeks to determine a discharge-of-condition application, though many respond sooner. The bigger variable is the quality of the submission — a complete, consistent package avoids the rounds of queries that stretch this to months.
What happens if the LLFA refuses to discharge the condition?
They issue their reasons, which usually point to missing information or a design that departs from the approved strategy. We review the reasons, revise the design and resubmit. If you've had a refusal on an existing scheme we can take it over and resolve it.
Can you handle the whole submission for me?
Yes. We prepare the calculations, drawings, maintenance plan and covering report, submit the discharge application, and deal with the LLFA's drainage officer through to approval.

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Free, no-obligation fixed-fee quote within 24 hours. All flood zones and LLFAs covered across England and Wales.

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