Planning Fee Increase, January 2018

Regulations to introduce the 20 percent increase in planning fees were made on December 20, 2017, which means that local planning authorities will be able to start applying the fee increase from January 17, 2018.  The reference for the Regulations is SI 2017 no.1314

These Regulations will also introduce a new fee of £402 per 0.1 hectare for Permission in Principle applications, the ability for authorities to charge for applications for planning permission following the removal of permitted development rights through Article 4 directions or by condition; and for Mayoral and Urban Development Corporations to charge for providing a pre-application service.

Finally, the Regulations introduce a fee of £96 for prior approval applications to permitted development rights that were introduced in April 2015 and April 2017. These include the rights for the installation of solar PV equipment on non-domestic buildings, the erection of click-and-collect facilities within the land area of a shop, the temporary use of buildings or land for film-making purposes and the provision of temporary school buildings on vacant commercial land for state funded schools.