Fees for planning applications
From 6 December 2023 and in line with government policy, there has been a change in the planning fees structure:
- fees payable for planning applications in England have increased by 35% for major applications and 25% for all other applications
- fees are no longer be exempt for repeat applications
- and the "Planning Guarantee" period for non-major planning applications has been reduced from 26 to 16 weeks
Applications that have not been submitted prior to the change (ie close of business on Tuesday 5 December 2023, will be subject to the increased fees.
For users of the planning portal, this will include any applications that are in draft or that have not had their payment completed (including nominated payments, or where back transfers or cheques have not been processed).
The changes to planning application fees are made by the government via the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendement) Regulations 2023.
Fees for planning applications are set by the Government and apply nationally to all applications in England.
The following fees were set in December 2023 and must be submitted with your application in order for us to register it. To avoid delays, you can Pay Online. Alternatively, you can send us a cheque made payable to St Albans District Council.
From 01 August 2023 postal or paper applications will attract a charge of £53.33 plus VAT which must be paid before an application can be processed. Please pay online at https://www.stalbans.gov.uk/pay-online-planning
Fees for common projects
The table below lists just the most common projects.
For the full list of fees please download the PDF below, which includes the fees for more complex or less common projects.
Application type | Description | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Householder Applications | Alterations/extensions to a single dwelling (but excluding flats), including works within the boundary such as outbuildings. | £258 |
| Full Planning Applications | Alterations/extensions to two or more dwellings (or two or more flats), including works within the boundaries. New dwellings (up to and including 10) | £509 £578 per dwelling |
| Lawful Development Certificates (Householder only) | For proposed development or use For existing development or use | £129 £258 |
| Discharge of conditions | Application to discharge one or more planning conditions. This is essential for any pre-commencement conditions on existing permissions | £43 per request for Householder applications £145 per request for all other applications |
| Non-material amendment | Non-material amendment following grant of planning permission | £43 in respect of Householder applications £293 in respect of other developments |
| Change of use | Change of use of a building or land | £578 |
| Removal or variation of condition | Removal or variation of condition following grant of planning permission | £293 |
| Prior Approval Change of Use | Change of use of a building under the Prior Approval scheme | £120 |
| Prior Approval Larger Home Extension | Larger Single-Storey Rear Extensions | £120 |
