How to get planning permission.

Listed building consent is free. An outline application for homes costs £610 for each 0.1 hectare of a site under half a hectare. There is no VAT on planning fees. When we checked on 14 October 2026, the Planning Portal's own page showed a service charge of £99 or £149, including VAT, on most applications made through it with a fee over £100 and none on some types. National fees rise each 1 April in line with inflation, capped at 10%.

A longer period applies only if you agree it in writing. The clock starts on the day after a valid application is received, not the day you lodge it. Comments can be made for 21 days after a site notice or neighbour notice. More on how long decisions take in practice is in the guide to how long planning permission takes.

A planning application's location plan is usually at 1:1250 or 1:2500, with any other land you own edged blue. A design and access statement, a flood risk assessment or a heritage assessment is needed where the site or the scheme calls for one. A council's local list counts only if it was published in the last two years. The Framework of August 2026 says it should add items beyond the national ones only where a development plan policy requires them.

An owner includes a leaseholder with seven years or more to run. You certify that notice was given on one of four ownership certificates. An agricultural holdings declaration is needed whether or not the land is farmed. Knowingly or recklessly signing a false certificate is an offence, with an unlimited fine.

The only saving was for resubmissions already inside their 12-month window. You can revise and reapply, or appeal: within 12 weeks of a householder or minor commercial refusal and within six months for most other applications. Where nothing significant has changed, a council can decline to decide a similar application within two years of a dismissed appeal, or of two refusals that were not appealed. Appeals are covered in the planning appeal guide.

An outline runs on two clocks: the reserved matters must be applied for within three years, then work must start within two years of the last approval. Since 18 February 2026, the deadline extends by a year if a court gives permission for a legal challenge. Listed building consent also lasts three years.

Those schemes must be on under half a hectare. The duty does not apply where the council itself has an interest or listed building consent is linked. Before 31 October 2026, each council's own scheme of delegation decided this. Under the national scheme, prior approvals, certificates and most condition and reserved matters applications also stay with officers; other planning applications and listed building consents go to committee only where the council's nominated officer and nominated member agree they raise a significant issue. The decision follows the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The appeal period includes any longer period you agreed in writing. The refund applies to a non-major application still undecided after 16 weeks, or 26 weeks for major development. The refund is lost if a longer period was agreed in writing, or if you appealed for non-determination before the 16 or 26 weeks ran out. The 16-week rule applies to applications made from 6 December 2023. An extension of time must set out the date by which a decision is expected.