The government has launched a technical consultation on plans to increase planning fees for major developments by 35%; a 25% increase is proposed for other applications.
The government’s plans aim to improve the performance of local authority planning departments by increasing their funding through higher fees, which would rise annually in line with inflation. Other changes proposed include reducing the Planning Guarantee to 16 weeks for non-major applications, removing the ‘free-go’ for repeat applications and doubling the fees for retrospective applications where work has been carried out without the proper permissions.
Subject to the results of the consultation and Parliamentary approval, a new fee regime for planning could be in place as early as summer 2023.
In the consultation documents, it is argued that the costs to local authorities of processing applications can be double the £206 planning fee paid by householders, while other applications such as buildings consent, works on protected trees and some repeat applications have no charge, adding to financial pressure on local authorities.
Despite the increase, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities estimate the planning fees would continue to represent approximately 1% of costs for developments, and that the taxpayer would continue to cover any shortfall in income facing local planning authorities.
The consultation opened in 28th February and will last for 8 weeks until 25 April 2023. Responses can be submitted online via the Government website.
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