What does it really cost to get planning?
From council fees to land surveys, Mike Dade breaks down the various charges you should budget for when applying for planning permission for your new home
For any scheme where planning permission is needed, be it a new build, conversion or extension, the process will involve fees paid to the council. It’s easy to overlook or underestimate some of these, but the last thing any project needs is to go over budget on the preliminaries before construction has even begun. So how much is it likely to cost?
Overview
Planning fees fall into three camps. There are the rates for statutory planning applications, then council charges including pre-app costs, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and other payment demands, and finally, professional estimates. The first of these is the most certain, as prices are set nationally, so are the same throughout the UK. Self builds are exempt from the CIL, so if your project qualifies then you won’t pay this. Other council expenses, like for pre-app or legal agreements, vary greatly and can be considerable.
Similarly, professional fees can swell your budget hugely, especially if you have to engage several on your project. Architects, planning consultants, land surveyors and tree, ecology, archaeology, environment, drainage and highways specialists are amongst the most commonly encountered. The following outlines how much you might pay during the planning application process.