Q.
What constitute 'material change' under Town and Country Planning Act, 1976?
A.
Similar question was also posted in 'material change' here.
This is a tricky question as 'material change' is very much a subjective issue in property development planning.
For under S.19 (2) which provides that no planning permission is required for certain circumstance, in (g) below mentioned about material change which does not require planning permission. See post TCPA - planning control here.
S.19 (2) (g) for the making of such material change in the use of land or building as the State Authority may prescribe to be a material change for which no planning permission is necessary.
Imagine you are a house owner, and with growing numbers of children, you would prefer to wall-up a backyard where you used to keep junks underneath a roof to another bedroom. Is that considered change to the material? Do you need to ask for planning permission?
As it is already with roof, and if you use Plinth area - building area covered, there is no extra use of outside land. If you use Density, you have just increased another room in the same plot of land - so higher density. If you use type of use, it is no change as you are using it as dwelling house.
Is the wall-up material or non-material?
The Town and Country Planning Act, 1976 in Section 2 - Interpretation has subsections (2) and (3) on this:
(2) For the avoidance of doubt in determining, for the purposes of this Act, what constitutes a material change in the use of land, it is declared that—
(a) the use of land as a place for depositing refuse or waste materials involves a material change in the use of the land, notwithstanding that the land is comprised in a site already used for that purpose, if the superficial area or the height of the deposit is thereby materially extended;
(b) any use of land or part thereof that contravenes or is inconsistent with or contrary to any provision of the development plan involves a material change in the use of the land.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt in determining, for the purposes of this Act, what constitutes a material change in the use of a building, it is declared that—
(a) any increase in the number of units in a building to more than the number originally approved by any authority empowered under any written law to give the approval involves a material change in the use of the building;
[Hence, with subsection S.2 (3)(a) above, increase in number of room in a building is a 'material change'.]
(b) the use as a dwelling-house of a building not originally constructed for human habitation involves a material change in the use of the building;
(c) any alteration or addition to that part of the building, whether in the interior or attached to the exterior of the building, that abuts upon any regular line of street as prescribed by or defined in any written law relating to buildings involves a material change in the use of the building;
[meaning of 'abuts' - To touch or end at one end or side; lie adjacent.]
(d) any use of a building or part thereof that contravenes or is inconsistent with or contrary to any provision of the development plan involves a material change in the use of the building;
(e) the use for other purposes of a building or part thereof originally constructed as a dwelling-house involves a material change in the use of the building.
Ref:
S.2 Interpretation of Town and Country Planning Act, 1976.