The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications,Requests and Site Visits) (England)(Amendment) Regulations 2023 provide for the payment of fees to local planning authorities in respect of applications for planning permission, approval of matters reserved by an outline planning permission and applications for consent for the display of advertisements. The following notes contain a summary of the requirements; the Regulations in full are available at the Council offices.
Calculation of fees:
The amount of fee payable is determined by reference to the scale of charges. If you are in doubt as to which fee is appropriate you are advised to contact the Planning Admin Office for assistance Contact the Planning Admin Team
In some categories the scale of charges is related to site areas and floor space.
In cases where the fee is related to the site area, the area used is the total site area to which the application relates. In cases where the fee is related to the floor space, this is the gross floor space involved or created by the development and should be ascertained by external measurement. In both cases any fraction of unit of measurement is treated as a whole for calculation of the fee.
For applications involving mixed development, ie: residential and non-residential, the fees appropriate for each proportion of the development should be added for the final fee.
Where an application involves a single development, which by its nature falls within more than one fee category, then the fee payable is the higher one.
Where an application for approval of reserved matters is made following a previous application or applications, made in respect of the same outline permission by or on behalf of the same application and the full fees have been paid as if an application had been made in respect of all the reserved matters relating to the whole development, then a flat fee is payable (see Schedule for fee payable).
Applications for alternative proposals by or on behalf of the same applicant relating to the same site and submitted on the same day are charged a total fee comprising an amount equal to the highest fee that is required, plus an amount equal to half of the total fees that would be required for the other application.
For advertisement applications which relate to advertisements on more than one site, the fee is the aggregate of the sums payable for each advertisement. Where the application relates to more than one advertisement on the same site, a single fee is required.
If an advertisement application relates to the placing of advertisements on parking meters, litter bins, bus shelters, etc., within a specific area then the whole area is treated as one site.
Applications made by or on behalf of a Parish or community council require half the appropriate fee.
Where applications involve land within more than one Local Authority area, you are advised to contact the Local Authority within which the greater part of the land falls.
INVALID APPLICATIONS
A fee will be incurred for applications registered but not made valid, and subsequently returned. This is a fee to cover officer time and administrative costs for planning applications which are registered but not made valid in the following circumstances:
- If a satisfactory response to an invalid letter is not received within the 28-day expiry period;
- If a statutory application fee is requested to be transferred from a previous closed invalid application to a new submission;
- If an invalid application is withdrawn after notification that it is invalid.
The charges will be made as follows:
Householder, advertisement and similar applications: £52.50
Minor, lawfulness and similar applications: £105
Major and similar complex applications: £210