The Government has published a consultation (28 Feb) on some proposed increases in planning application fees. The closing date for this consultation is 24 April 2023.

This consultation seeks views on proposals to increase planning fees and to improve the performance of local planning authorities. We want you to tell us what you think about the proposals to:

·            increase planning fees by 35% for major applications and 25% for all other applications

·            additional fees for bespoke or ‘fast track’ services

·            make an annual inflation-related adjustment to planning fees

·            ring-fence additional fees income

·            double fees for retrospective applications

·            remove the ‘free-go’ for repeat applications

·            introduce a prior approval fee for the permitted development right allowing the Crown to develop sites within the perimeter of a closed defence site

·            build planning capacity and capability within local authorities, including challenges in recruitment and retention, and how these can be addressed

·            reduce the Planning Guarantee from 26 weeks to 16 weeks for non-major applications

·            improve the quality of the local authority planning service by monitoring more performance measures.