How much does planning permission cost is two questions an applicant runs together: what the authority's fee is for the application type, which is set by regulation and read from the fee guidance on the day, and what the application costs all in with the agent, the drawings, the surveys the validation checklist demands and the pre-application charge, which is several times the fee on most schemes. How much is planning permission, planning application cost and cost of planning application uk are the same question; planning permission cost uk adds the note that the fee regulations differ between England and Wales, and cost of listed building consent adds the one application that carries no fee at all. This page sets out where each line comes from, why the fee is the smallest, and where the free cost of planning application sheet on this site works the figure.
The fee: set by regulation, read on the day, worked by type
The authority's fee is worked from the application type and its size, per dwelling or per square metre of floor space for a full application, on site area for an outline, a flat sum for a section 73, a householder application or a discharge of conditions, and it is set by the fee regulations for England or for Wales, which change. This site publishes no figure: the fee guidance cited below is where the applicant reads the fee for the type on the day, and the cost sheet takes the figure read. The one application without a fee is listed building consent, which costs what its heritage statement and drawings cost.
The professional costs, and why they dwarf the fee
The planning agent or consultant who prepares and manages the application; the architect's drawings; the surveys and reports the local validation checklist requires for the site and the type, ecology, arboricultural, transport, flood risk, noise, heritage, contamination; and the pre-application advice charge the authority makes. On a small housing scheme those lines together are several times the fee, and they arrive one at a time as the checklist is read. The cost of planning application sheet on this site takes each as its own line and returns the cost all in, the professional share and the cost per unit proposed.
The sunk share is the figure the client is deciding on
If the application is refused the fee is gone and so is every professional cost, and the professional costs are the larger part. The cost sheet returns what is spent before the decision on its own, because that is the number that decides whether to seek pre-application advice first, whether to test the principle with an outline before a full application, and whether a refusal is appealed or the scheme reworked. Consentvia Pro keeps the cost sheet against the application with the quotes and the invoices, so the next scheme is costed from actuals.
Questions people ask about how much does planning permission cost
How much is planning permission for a house extension?
A householder application carries a flat fee set by the regulations, plus the drawings and any survey the checklist asks for. The homeowner's extension itself is the extensions-lofts territory; this site costs the application.
Is the planning fee refunded if the application is refused?
No. The fee is for the authority's work in deciding the application, and a refusal is a decision. A free resubmission of a refused or withdrawn application within a set time is available in some cases, and the fee guidance cited below sets out when.
Does listed building consent cost anything?
There is no fee for listed building consent, and the application still costs the heritage statement, the drawings and the agent. The cost sheet on this site takes a fee of zero and costs the rest.
Sources
- GOV.UK planning practice guidance, Fees for planning applications: how the fee for each type is worked
- GOV.UK planning practice guidance, Before submitting an application: pre-application advice and local validation requirements
- GOV.UK planning practice guidance, Making an application: the forms, plans and supporting documents, including the planning and heritage statements