The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025
These regulations amend the 2012 Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) Regulations.
Several fees are increased, including those for prior approval applications, confirmation of compliance with planning conditions, and section 73 applications.
A new three-tiered fee structure for section 73 applications is introduced.
Transitional provisions ensure that the amendments do not apply to applications or requests made before the regulations' commencement date (April 1, 2025), while delaying the application of the annual fee increase provided for in regulation 18A to April 1, 2026.
Arguments For
Increased Revenue for Planning Authorities: The fee increases generate additional revenue for local planning authorities, potentially improving their capacity to process planning applications and enforce regulations.
Cost-Recovery Mechanism: Higher fees can better reflect the actual costs associated with processing applications, promoting a fairer distribution of costs.
Improved Efficiency: Increased resources from higher fees could lead to quicker processing times and reduced backlogs in planning applications.
Alignment with Inflation: The adjustments in fee amounts may reflect inflation and the rising costs of administering the planning system.
Arguments Against
Increased Burden on Developers and Applicants: Higher fees place a greater financial burden on those seeking planning permission, potentially deterring smaller projects and increasing development costs.
Disproportionate Impact on Small Businesses: The fee increases may disproportionately affect small businesses and individuals with limited financial resources.
Potential for Reduced Development: Higher fees could lead to a slowdown in development, impacting housing supply and economic growth.
Administrative Complexity: Implementing the new fee structure may introduce additional administrative burdens for local planning authorities.
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 303(1) and (5) and 333(2A) and (2B) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990[1].
In accordance with section 303(8)(a) of that Act, a draft of this instrument has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.
The Secretary of State created these regulations using powers granted by the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
A draft version was reviewed and approved by Parliament.
Citation, commencement, extent and interpretation 1.
(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025.
(2) These Regulations come into force on 1st April 2025.
(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales.
(4) In these Regulations, “the 2012 Regulations” means the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) Regulations 2012[2].
The regulations' official title is stated in section (1).
Section (2) sets the start date as April 1st, 2025.
Section (3) specifies England and Wales as the areas covered.
Section (4) defines "the 2012 Regulations" for clarity and reference throughout the document.
Amendment of the 2012 Regulations 2.
The 2012 Regulations are amended in accordance with regulations 3, 4 and 5.
This section indicates that regulations 3, 4, and 5 detail the specific amendments to the 2012 regulations.
Amendment of regulation 14 3.
Regulation 14(1) (fees for certain applications under the General Permitted Development Order) is amended as follows—
(a) in sub-paragraphs (za), (zab), (zac), (a), (aa) and (ba), for “£120”, in each place it occurs, substitute “£240”;
(b) in sub-paragraph (zb), for “£258” substitute “£516”;
(c) in sub-paragraph (zc), for “£125” substitute “£250”.
Regulation 14(1), which outlines fees for specific applications under the General Permitted Development Order, is updated.
Specific sub-paragraphs are amended, and multiple fee changes are detailed.
Each fee is doubled.
Amendment of regulation 16 4.
(1) Regulation 16 (fees for confirmation of compliance with condition attached to planning permission) is amended as follows.
(2) In paragraph (1)—
(a) in sub-paragraph (a), for “£43” substitute “£86”;
(b) in sub-paragraph (b), for “£145” substitute “£298”.
(3) After paragraph (1A) insert—
(1B) For the purposes of paragraph (1), reference to a condition or conditions includes reference to a condition or conditions attached to a grant of planning permission pursuant to provision in or under Part 2 of Schedule 7A to the 1990 Act (condition of planning permission relating to biodiversity gain)[3].
Regulation 16, covering fees for confirming planning permission compliance, is also changed.
Sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) see fee increases.
A new sub-paragraph (1B) is added to include biodiversity gain conditions in the scope of the fee.
Amendment of Schedule 1 5.
(1) Schedule 1 (fees in respect of applications and deemed applications for planning permission or for approval of reserved matters) is amended as follows.
(2) In Part 1 (fees for planning applications and deemed applications), for paragraph 5 substitute—
5. (1) Where an application is made pursuant to section 73 of the 1990 Act (determination of applications to develop land without compliance with conditions previously attached)[4] the fee payable in respect of the application shall be—
(a) if the application is a householder application, £86; (b) if the application is an application for major development, £2,000; (c) in any other case, £586. (2) In this paragraph, “major development” has the same meaning as in article 2(1) of the Development Management Procedure Order.
(3) In Part 2 (scale of fees), in the table—
(a) in the entry relating to category 2, in paragraph (3)(e), for “£30,680” substitute “£31,385”;
(b) in the entry relating to category 3, in paragraph (3)(d), for “£624”, in the first place it occurs, substitute “£5,077”;
(c) in the entry relating to category 6—
(i) in paragraph (1), for “£258” substitute “£528”; (ii) in paragraph (2), for “£509” substitute “£1,043”.
Schedule 1, concerning fees for planning applications and approvals, undergoes several revisions.
Paragraph 5 is replaced with a new three-tier fee structure for section 73 applications.
Parts 2 fee categories 2, 3, and 6 also see various fee increases.
Transitional provision 6.
(1) The amendments made in regulations 3, 4 and 5 do not apply to—
(a) any application—
(i) made before the commencement date, or (ii) deemed to have been made, by virtue of section 177(5) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990[5], in connection with an enforcement notice issued before the commencement date, or
(b) any request made under regulation 16(1) of the 2012 Regulations before the commencement date.
(2) Regulation 18A of the 2012 Regulations (fees payable on or after 1st April 2025) applies in respect of the relevant amended amounts as if, in paragraph (5), in the definition of “fee change date”, for “1st April 2025” there were substituted “1st April 2026”.
(3) In this regulation—
“the commencement date” means the date on which these Regulations come into force;
“the relevant amended amounts” means the fees as amended by regulations 3, 4 and 5.
This section outlines transitional arrangements.
The fee changes in regulations 3, 4, and 5 do not affect applications or requests submitted before April 1st, 2025.
The annual fee increase specified in Regulation 18A is delayed from April 1st, 2025 to April 1st, 2026.
The section also clarifies the definitions of 'the commencement date' and 'the relevant amended amounts'.
Signed by the authority of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Matthew Pennycook Minister of State Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 12th March 2025
This section shows the signature and approval of the Minister of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Explanatory Note (This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2920) (“the 2012 Regulations”).
Regulation 3 increases the fees for certain prior approval applications under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/596).
Regulation 4 increases the fees for requesting written confirmation of compliance with a condition attached to a planning permission and clarifies that this fee applies to written requests to confirm compliance with a statutory biodiversity net gain condition under Schedule 7A to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (c. 8).
Regulation 5 introduces a three-tier fee structure for section 73 applications. Regulation 5 also increases the fees for householder applications and two miscellaneous fee categories which had previously been erroneously set too low.
Regulation 6 makes related transitional provision. This includes provision to the effect that the annual increase of fees as provided for in regulation 18A of the 2012 Regulations applies to the fee amounts as amended by these Regulations from 1st April 2026.
A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Planning – Development Management Division, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Third Floor, Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF, and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside this instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.
This explanatory note summarizes the key changes introduced by the regulations, providing a non-legal overview of the impact on fees.
It also points to the availability of a full regulatory impact assessment for businesses and the voluntary sector.