Planning fees for prior approval applications

A prior approval fee is not a discounted planning fee. It is a separate charge set by class in the fees regulations, and the amount depends on which permitted development right you are using rather than on the scale of the works. A householder prior approval for a larger rear extension, an agricultural building notification and a Class MA conversion of a shop to flats sit at three different points on the scale.

Because every figure in the fee schedule is indexed and revised, this article deals with structure rather than amounts. Check the current schedule through the Planning Portal fee calculator before you budget, and check it again if the application slips past 1 April.

How prior approval fees differ from full application fees

A full planning application fee is calculated from the development: the number of dwellings, the floorspace created, or the site area. Prior approval fees are set as flat amounts by class, with some classes charging per dwelling.

Three consequences follow.

The relationship between fee and scheme size breaks down. A prior approval for one flat and a prior approval for a larger scheme under the same class can attract very different totals, depending on whether that class charges per unit.

The fee buys a narrower decision. The authority is not assessing the principle of development, only the matters the class reserves for its consideration, which might be transport and highways, contamination, flooding, noise and the impact on the local shopping provision. Anything outside that list is not a reason for refusal.

And a refused prior approval does not credit anything towards a subsequent full application. You pay twice.

Fees by permitted development class

The classes a landlord or investor meets most often each have their own basis.

Read the current fees regulations rather than relying on that table for amounts, because bands and multipliers have changed several times since 2023 and annual indexation now applies.

Two points that catch people. Some classes require a fee for the prior approval application and a further fee for any subsequent application to discharge conditions attached to the prior approval. And where the class requires the developer to apply for a determination as to whether prior approval is required, that application attracts the fee even if the answer is that approval is not required.

The determination period and the effect of missing it

Prior approval periods are short and they carry a consequence that ordinary applications do not.

Larger home extensions run to 42 days. Class MA and Class Q run to 56 days. Agricultural prior approvals under Part 6 run to 28 days. Each period runs from receipt of a valid application with the required information and fee.

If the authority does not notify a decision within the period, the development may generally proceed in accordance with the submitted details. That is the real value of the route and the reason validation matters so much: an authority that treats an application as invalid stops the clock, and a developer who assumes the clock is running may build unlawfully.

Protect the position with three habits. Submit everything the class lists, in the form it lists. Get written confirmation of the validation date. And diarise the expiry, then write to the authority on the day the period ends confirming your understanding rather than starting work silently.

Where the authority refuses within the period, appeal rights exist, and the appeal is against the refusal of prior approval rather than against a refusal of planning permission.

Where a prior approval refusal leads to a full application

A refusal is not the end, but it changes the arithmetic.

The full application fee is calculated on the ordinary basis, so a conversion refused under Class MA becomes a change of use application charged at the standard rate. The assessment also widens: the authority can now consider the principle of the development, the loss of the existing use, design, amenity and everything else, and local plan policies apply in full.

Sometimes that is an advantage. A scheme that fails a narrow technical test in the class, such as a natural light requirement, may succeed on its merits as a full application with a different internal layout. Sometimes it is fatal, because the local plan protects the existing use.

Decide which before paying the second fee. Read the refusal notice carefully: a refusal on a matter the class reserves tells you something different from a refusal on the ground that the right was never available.

Fees where multiple units are proposed

Where a class charges per dwellinghouse, the fee scales with the scheme and it can be substantial on a larger conversion.

Two practical points. Count the units the way the regulations count them, which is by dwellinghouse created rather than by bedroom or by habitable room. And where a scheme is phased, splitting it into separate applications does not reduce the total fee, and it does introduce the risk that the later phase is assessed against a changed policy position.

A related trap on Class Q is the limit on the number of dwellings and the floorspace that may be converted within an agricultural unit. Earlier conversions on the same unit consume that allowance, and an application that exceeds it is not a fee question, it is a refusal.

Costs of the supporting information required

The fee is usually the smallest line in a prior approval budget. The supporting information is the rest.

For Class MA, the reserved matters commonly require a transport and highways note, a contamination assessment, a flood risk position where the site is in a flood zone, a noise assessment where the site adjoins a commercial use, and evidence on natural light to habitable rooms. That last item has ended more Class MA schemes than any policy argument, because rooms with no window cannot be made compliant by drafting.

For Class Q, expect structural evidence that the building can be converted without substantial rebuilding, together with transport, noise, contamination and flooding material.

A Planning Statement setting out how each reserved matter is addressed, cross-referenced to the supporting documents, makes the officer's job straightforward and reduces the chance of a validation query. The report index shows which technical reports the reserved matters usually call for.

Budgeting a prior approval route end to end

Build the budget in five lines rather than one.

1. The prior approval fee, taken from the current schedule and multiplied by units where the class charges per dwelling.
2. Drawings, including existing and proposed floor plans and elevations at the scale the authority requires.
3. Technical reports for each reserved matter, which is usually the largest line.
4. Condition discharge fees after approval, plus the cost of the information those conditions require.
5. A contingency for a full application if the prior approval fails, at the standard fee rate.

Then compare the total against a full application from the outset. On a marginal Class MA scheme where several reserved matters are difficult, the prior approval route can cost more than a change of use application and deliver a narrower permission. The pricing page sets out what an AI-assisted draft of each supporting report costs against a consultant appointment.

This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.