Planning application fee increase – Update 22 November
As you’ll undoubtedly already know, planning fees in England have increased by 15% from today. The revised fee schedule is available from the Portal.
We have made the necessary changes to the fee calculator to take this increase into account and the Portal elves successfully deployed the new structure while you slept. The switchover worked fine and the fee calculator is working correctly to reflect the new fees.
If you had an application in draft on the Portal the system will have updated the fee for you automatically. You will need to confirm the fee before you submit it.
The planning fee increase was determined by the Department for Communities and Local Government (not the Portal – so don’t shoot the messenger) and was communicated to English local planning authorities last week.
Planning Portal Blog 
Thank you – could these emails re portal information also be sent to Samantha Hunkin = shunkin@cornwall.gov.uk
Thank you
Sally
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Sorry Arnold, do you mean that you have given up being appalled at everything to do with planning but you are still appalled with the Portal or did you mean the opposite? 🙂
Without any intention of riddling Chris, the Portal, or any other innocent bystander with bullet holes, a 15% planning application fee increase is, in the present economic circumstances of the UK, utterly ridiculous, particularly when maximum fees were increased by around 400% four years ago producing a ceiling fee of £250,000 – yes, A QUARTER OF A MILLION QUID ! – for full applications for new dwellings, with some authorities now also seeking to screw £19,000 CIL out of a developer or individual for granting permission for a single 3-bedroomed house, and also charging around £500 at commercial solicitors’ legal fee rates for “drafting” a virtually standard “fill-in-the gaps” s106 contract plus a three-figure sum for checking by a mere ILE of each of the s106 obligations, plus a fee per obligation for “monitoring” compliance with each obligation, and anything else they can dream up.
For £250,000 one could hire around 8 or 9 planning officers full time on average salary for an entire year, never mind for the 15 week determination period !
The UK housing industry is now being treated as a cash cow by government and local authorities alike.
CIL is of course merely a revamped Planning Gain “Supplement” (i.e Tax) devised under Gordon Brown’s stewardship of the UK just before his government was kicked out, retained by the Coalition and renamed as CIL, and is a wheeze that has been attempted before by Labour governments – the last time in the 1960’s and 1970’s under two Harold Wilson administrations, producing disastrous results in both cases for both land availability and houseguilding.
Neither central nor local government should start scratching their heads with bewilderment in a couple of years time and wondering why their housing targets are nowhere near being met. And central government should similarly not be wondering why the housing industry has not led the UK out of recession as it has always done since the 1960’s.
It is known as “killing the golden goose”.
Don’t worry Trevor I’ve retreated behind bullet-proof glass for a couple of days!
Re: PortalDirector response to Trevor Dennington……….I was hoping for some form of justification to the fee increase rather than run and hide!
Andy, not hiding just not responsible.
The Planning Application fees are set by the Minister and ratified by Parliament after widespread consultation last year.
We charge no fees for the services we provide.
‘If you currently have an application in draft on the Portal and don’t submit it today, we will update the fee for you automatically. You will then need to confirm the fee before you submit it.’…..Is it enough to just submit an application today? Surely it needs to be submitted and paid for today to benefit from the current fee?.
Applications submitted today will not be received by LPAs until tomorrow and if they are received without the fee then LPAs will probably ask for the higher fee. Just a thought.
Its a thought we’ve just been discussing.
I am assuming that the majority of our customers who submit online will pay online.
It’s a fair point that legislation states “Where the electronic communication is received by the recipient outside the recipient’s business hours, it shall be taken to have been received on the next working day; and for this purpose “working day” means a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday or other public holiday.
However the new fees come into effect at midnight and not before.
This is clearly an ambiguity brought about by the clash of ancient and modern working practises.
We’ve been here before on several occasions unfortunately!
To be clear if you absolutely need to get an application in under the current fees it needs to be received by the LPA, valid and paid for by 5pm. today.
Trevor. I have given up being apalled at anything associated with planning (with the exception of the portal of course).
I just stand in agog at planners and politicians complaining about the lack of affordable homes. A small house on a site we own just cost shy of £30 grand before we put a spade in the ground, about 50% of Prescotts dream £60 grand house. Everyone you needed approval from had their hand in your pocket and took as much as the felt they needed including £19.00 for a “Welcome to ***shire pack”
I notice more and more that people are just building and forgetting about planning and then, if needed, getting us to provide the “get out of jail” card.
Perhaps that is the way it is going. It may even be what provides the building industry with a much needed kick start and some really innovative buildings.
Here endeth the rant.
So you are still appalled at the Portal? 🙂
Good Morning,
Having gone through the draft SI last week with a fine toothcomb, this morning I have been comparing the new Fees Schedule that went live on the Planning Portal at midnight with the one I have created for our own officers to use. Although we have not yet seen the published SI, I have noticed 2 errors on the last Page of the Planning Portal’s schedule under the Concessions. It states 335 for Non-profit making sports clubs and for Reserved Matters. These should both be 385. See Page 17 & 18, Schedule 1 chapter 2 of the draft SI.
Also, I cannot see Application for certificates of appropriate alternative development application fee 195 – I may be missing this so would appreciate it if you could tell me where it is on your schedule so that I can get a better understanding of how I should be displaying it on our own internal schedule.
Cath Brierley
Senior Support Officer Development Management Planning and Building Control Borough of Pendle Town Hall, Market Street Nelson BB9 7LG Tel: 01282 661789 Fax: 01282 661720 Web: http://www.pendle.gov.uk/planning email: cath.brierley@pendle.gov.uk ________________________________
I will investigate immediately and get back to you.
Congratulations on your eagle eyes.
You are correct the fee has not been updated in the schedule although it is correct in the calculator – phew!
We’re updating the pdf as I write.
I will respond further on the certificates of appropriate alternative development.
I submitted a Non-Material Amendment on the 19th November. They said they were sending an invoice out. Does that mean they’ll charge me the new fee of £28 of the old fee? I know there’s only a £3 difference, but still, would be handy to know.