Prior approval fees under the permitted development order

A prior approval application fee is a flat sum fixed by the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) Regulations 2012, and it varies by the class of permitted development you are relying on rather than by the size of the scheme. That structure produces some odd outcomes. A change of use of a whole office building to flats can attract a lower fee than a modest full application, while an upward extension creating several dwellings is charged per dwelling and can cost considerably more.

How the fees are set

The regulations set the amounts for each type of prior approval application in a schedule, and the government uplifted them in December 2023 with annual indexation applying from April 2025. Because the figures move each year, take them from the fee guidance on GOV.UK or the Planning Portal fee calculator on the day of submission.

The pattern behind the numbers is stable even when the numbers are not.

• Householder prior approval, for a larger home extension under Schedule 2 Part 1 Class A, carries the lowest flat fee.
• Changes of use under Part 3, including commercial to residential and agricultural to residential, carry a standard flat fee.
• Where the class permits building operations as well as a change of use, and those operations are included, a higher flat fee applies.
• New dwellings created under Part 20, on top of existing buildings, are charged per dwelling.
• Agricultural development under Part 6, solar under Part 14 and telecommunications under Part 16 each have their own flat fee.

None of these is proportionate to floorspace, which is why the fee is rarely the deciding factor between routes.

Paying it correctly, and why it matters more than the amount

The fee is a validity requirement. An application submitted without the correct fee is not a valid application, and the 56-day period within which the authority must determine most prior approval applications does not begin to run.

That is where the real money sits. An underpayment of a modest sum can cost a developer months, because the authority is entitled to treat the clock as starting only when the correct fee arrives, and a scheme that assumed deemed consent on day 57 will have started work without authorisation.

Two habits protect against it. Pay through the Planning Portal so the fee calculation is generated against the application type. And ask the authority to confirm in writing the date it treats the application as received and the fee as paid, then diary from that date rather than from the date you pressed submit.

Resubmissions and refusals

The concession that allows one free resubmission of a refused or withdrawn planning application is written around applications for planning permission. Prior approval applications are applications for a determination, so do not assume the concession covers a repeat submission. Ask the authority in writing before relying on it.

Where prior approval is refused, there is a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, and no fee is payable to lodge the appeal. That matters commercially. Where a refusal turns on a matter the class does not list, an appeal is often better value than a resubmission with more paperwork.

The levy, which people forget entirely

Permitted development is not exempt from the community infrastructure levy. Where a charging schedule is in force and the development creates chargeable floorspace, the levy applies even though no planning application was made.

The mechanism differs, and this is the part that catches owners out. For development carried out under a general consent, which includes permitted development, a notice of chargeable development must be submitted to the collecting authority before development starts on site. Miss it and the authority can determine the chargeable amount itself and apply surcharges, and any relief or exemption you would have claimed can be lost.

So the sequence on a Class MA or Part 20 scheme is prior approval, then the levy notice and any exemption claim, then a commencement notice, then start on site. Getting that order wrong is more expensive than any application fee.

Comparing the fee with the full application route

It is worth putting the two routes side by side before committing, because the fee is only one of the differences and rarely the deciding one.

A scheme that fits the class squarely is usually better off on the prior approval route, because the shorter list of matters is a real advantage. A scheme that needs the council to accept a departure, or that wants a different mix from the one the class allows, will spend the saved fee several times over trying to force the class to fit.

The documents cost more than the application

On most prior approval routes the fee is a small part of the budget, because the class requires evidence on each of the matters the authority must consider.

A commercial to residential conversion typically needs a transport and highways note, a Phase 1 contamination desk study, flood risk evidence where the site sits in Flood Zone 2 or 3, a noise assessment where the building adjoins commercial premises, and evidence on the provision of adequate natural light in habitable rooms. That last one is the frequent killer on deep floorplates, and a Daylight and Sunlight Assessment run early will tell you whether the scheme works before you spend anything else.

Add measured surveys, drawings, and evidence of the qualifying use over the required period, and the document budget dwarfs the fee. Drafting some of those documents in-house changes the arithmetic. PlanScope pricing sets out one free report, £50 per report, and £150 per month or £600 per year on the Professional tier for architects, planning agents and consultants.

Building the budget line

1. Identify the class and read its current text, since the classes are amended frequently.
2. Take the fee from the current schedule, and check whether it is charged per dwelling.
3. List every matter the class requires the authority to consider, and price a document for each.
4. Add the levy, if a charging schedule applies, and the notices that go with it.
5. Add building regulations, and any party wall or highway licence costs.
6. Add a contingency for one appeal, since prior approval refusals are appealed more often than full applications.

Where the numbers turn out close, compare the route with a full planning application. Prior approval limits what the council can consider, which is its advantage, but it also limits what you can negotiate, and a scheme that needs flexibility is sometimes better served by the ordinary route. The 66 report types show what each route typically requires.

This is general guidance rather than legal advice. Fees are indexed annually and the permitted development classes change, so check the current 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.