Act Now to avoid rising costs
Assuming legislation laid before Parliament in January 2025 passes smoothly through the parliamentary system, nationally set planning fees, payable by applicants to Local Planning Authorities on submission of planning applications, are set to rise dramatically from 1 April 2025. This blog looks at some of the proposed changes and what lies ahead.
What does this mean for Householder proposals?
The fee for applications to enlarge, improve or make any other alterations to a single dwelling house will rise from £258 to £528 (an increase of 105%) and from £509 to £1,043 (105%) for works to two or more dwellings.
The existing fee of £258 will remain unchanged for householder developments related to small-scale operations within the curtilage of a dwelling, such as the construction of gates, fences, and walls.
What about “Prior Approval” applications via Permitted Development Rights?
The fee for Prior Approval applications that don't involve building operations will rise from £120 to £240.
The fee for Prior Approval applications that do involve building operations, including most ‘Class Q’ conversion schemes, will rise from £258 to £516.
The fee for Prior Approvals relating to the change of use of Class E (Commercial) uses to Residential (under Class MA) is being increased from £125 per dwelling house to £250 per dwelling. Intriguingly, it looks as if the Government has not taken the opportunity to charge ‘per dwelling’ in respect of many of the commonly used Prior Approval applications – for example, a Class Q application to convert a barn to a single dwelling will still incur the same statutory fee (£516) as an application to convert to a barn to 10 dwellings (the maximum number of homes permitted under Class Q).
Section 73 (Variation of Conditions) and Applications to Discharge Planning Conditions
There is currently a single flat fee of £292 to vary or amend a planning condition (via Section 73) regardless of the development type. The new 2025 regulations will introduce a new three-tier fee structure for applications of this nature:
£86 for householder applications
£586 for non-major development (other than householders)
£2,000 for major development
In addition, the fees for applications to discharge details required by a planning condition are doubling to £86 (from £43) for householders and £298 (from £145) for any other development.
Indexation
Statutory planning fees will now be subject to indexation and will rise annually to take into account inflation from 1 April 2026.
More details on the April 2025 fee increases are set out in the draft fee schedule available here.
Further fee increases on the horizon
Further increases are expected as the Government seeks alternative ways for Councils to fully fund their planning departments at a time when most Local Authorities are in desperate need of additional resources. The statement made in response to the July 2024 consultation on increasing the nationally set planning fees makes its future strategy clear:
“The Government intends to take forward measures in the proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill to introduce a power for local planning authorities to be able to vary or set their own fees. The Government intends to pursue a model that would enable local variation from a national default fee. In varying or setting their own fees, local authorities will not be able to be set fees above costs. The government will provide guidance on fee setting, including what costs can be recovered.”
Act now to avoid rising costs
With further increases in planning fees on the horizon, now is a good time to move projects forward in advance of future fee increases. With offices across the South West, Salmon Planning Company are well placed to help landowners and developers unlock the value and development potential of their land with both expert chartered planning advice and in-house architectural services.
Do not hesitate to contact us on 01749 671500 or email info@salmonplanning.co.uk
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