New Planning Fees April 2025

Planning Fee Changes 2025

Upcoming changes to planning application fees across England will be taking effect from 1 April 2025. These updates stem from the National Planning Policy Framework consultation held last year and aim to improve cost recovery for local planning authorities.

How are the planning fees changing?

• Fees for householder applications for alterations and extensions will increase from £258 to £528, while smaller ancillary works will see a slight rise from £258 to £262.
• The discharge of conditions fee for householder development will increase from £43 to £86, and for other development, from £145 to £298.
• Variation or removal of condition fees will now be tiered instead of a flat £293, with householder development reduced to £86, non-major development set at £586, and major development at £2,000.
• Prior approval fees will mostly double, increasing from £120/£125/£258 to £240/£250/£516, though applications for ‘Communications’ and ‘Construction of new dwelling houses’ are excluded from this and will only see inflationary increases.
• Corrections have also been made to large building applications and agricultural buildings to ensure consistency in fee banding.

See the full changes here: Planning Portal Forthcoming Application Fees 

Please note that the planning portal fees are also increasing as of 1 April 2025, the following will apply:

• Updated Planning Portal service charge: £70.83 +VAT
• Minimum fee threshold increase: From £60 to £100 (applications under £100 will not incur a service charge).

Impacts

Homeowners will face higher costs for extensions and modifications and developers will see increased fees for large-scale developments and condition changes. Please consider these fee adjustments when planning and budgeting projects.

What does this mean for Local Authorities?

Local authorities should benefit from additional financial support to enhance planning services. Although there’s no direct indication that processing times will change, we hope that Local Planning Authorities will be better resourced and strive to determine within the mandatory 8/13 week periods.

These updates take effect from 1 April 2025.