Planning Fee Increase

On the 6th December planning fees within England will increase following on from the passing of the LURA Bill in Parliament. The main points affecting how fees are calculated on the Planning Portal are: 

 

• Application fees in England will be increasing by 25% across the board, which will rise to 35% for major schemes based on the legislative interpretation of ‘major development’.
• The provision for a ‘free go’ on application resubmissions in England will also be removed, but individual applications that were already eligible for a free resubmission prior to the change (i.e. before 6th December 2023), will remain so. This will see the number of such exemptions fade out over the 12-month period after the amendments have taken effect.
• A fee is being introduced for the prior approval application required, as part of the permitted development rights for ‘development by the Crown on a closed defence site’.

 

Separately, the amendment introduces an annual rise in application fees linked to inflation (and capped at 10%) every April from 2025 onwards. 

It also tightens the planning guarantee so that undetermined non-major applications (including householder developments) will be eligible to receive a refund after 16 weeks, shortened from the 26-week period which remains ‘as is’ in all other cases. 

 

What this means for applicants 

As per the detail above, applications that have not been submitted prior to the change (i.e. the close of business, 17:00 on Tuesday 5th December 2023), will be subject to the increased fees. 

 

For users of the Planning Portal, this will include any applications that are in draft or that have not had their payment completed (including nominated payments, or where bank transfers or cheques have not yet been processed). 

 

However, it is important to note that some planning authorities may seek to uplift planning application fees if an application is not validated until after the 6^th. We recommend that prior to the submission, this matter be checked with the individual LPA.

 

Additionally, where the payment process has already begun but has not completed (e.g. you have made a nomination that has not yet been actioned), the Planning Portal will cancel the process and return the application to a ‘draft’ state. This will allow the applicant to recalculate the application fee and restart the payment process to ensure that the correct amount is paid when the application is submitted to the Local Authority.