Following its consultation on making changes to planning application fees in England, which concluded in January 2012, the Government has said that it will need to carry out more research on whether:
1. Local planning authorities (LPAs) should be able to set their own planning fees;
2. LPAs should be allowed to charge for planning applications that are resubmitted following withdrawal or refusal. Currently, LPAs cannot charge;
3. LPAs should have power to set higher fees for retrospective applications; and
4. There are any development management services that are currently charged for, but that should be exempt (or vice versa). However, the Government has decided not to extend fees to cover the costs of plan-making.
The Government concluded that “New evidence from on-going work with local authorities indicates that decentralisation of fees is a complex proposal which would need further working through”.
In the meantime, the Government has announced a one-off national increase in planning fees of 15 per cent.