Setting and review of pre-application fees

This section outlines the key findings from research into the fee levels and pre- application services. This section also include guidance on setting fees and a fee calculator.


The project

This section outlines the key findings from research into the fee levels and pre- application services  employed  by a cross-section of local authorities in England .  

The research has looked at 87 LPAs across England that represent all types of local authority, across every region and includes every area classification type (as defined in the ONS Area Classification

We have looked at the variations and commonalities in approaches and used the findings to help inform other areas of the research conclusions. 

Key Findings

The key findings of this research are: 

  • Significant variation of fee levels exists, including a minority of LPA still not levying any fee on their pre-application services; 

  • No clear pattern is evident between LPA type, or indeed between second tier LPA associated with the same upper tier authority; 

  • No strong geographical pattern is present; 

  • Fees are, predominantly, based upon fixed fee approaches; 

  • The involvement of specialist advise is variable with some councils including specialist advice in the standard fee whilst others providing this only as an additional, optional fee; 

  • The approach in how councils provide pre-application responses is varied, but with clear groupings evident; 

  • A notable percentage (30%) of fee carrying LPA provide some form of free service; 

  • Response times are somewhat variable, but most significantly varied by the scale of development being proposed and/or type of response (written/meeting) requested;  

  • LPA websites are hugely variable in their structure and approach, making collection of data difficult and very difficult for an applicant who is trying to compare one council’s approach with another.  The quality / clarity of information communication, was equally variable; and 

  • There is a great amount of variation in the way councils provide pre application advice.  For example, in some cases a council-wide response will be given through a single fee, whilst in other cases internal and external advice is paid for separately as an additional extra.  In other cases it is simply unclear what an applicant is paying for at the time of submitting a pre application. Perhaps most notably was a lack of detail with regards how fee levels had been set in many cases. The type of information provided varied from comprehensive guidance / protocols, to very basic and sometimes process / fee orientated materials. 

LPAs identified for detailed study

Map showing LPA locations involved in the research

The LPAs identified in this map can be cross referenced in the table below. Each LPA is hyperlinked to the webpage containing available materials concerning pre-application fee matters [last accessed 04/01/2023]

Authority 

No. 

Authority Type 

Area Classification 

Exeter 

District Council 

Larger Towns and Cities 

Barrow-in-Furness 

District Council 

Mining Legacy 

Mansfield 

District Council 

Manufacturing Legacy 

Selby 

District Council 

Country Living 

Lincoln 

District Council 

Larger Towns and Cities 

Worcester 

District Council 

Urban Living 

Great Yarmouth 

District Council 

Seaside Living 

Hastings 

District Council 

Urban Living 

Cheshire East 

Unitary Authority 

Country Living 

Northumberland 

10 

Unitary Authority 

Sparse English Countryside 

York 

11 

Unitary Authority 

Larger Towns and Cities 

North Northamptonshire 

12 

Unitary Authority 

Country Living 

Herefordshire 

13 

Unitary Authority 

Sparse English Countryside 

Southend-on-Sea 

14 

Unitary Authority 

Urban Living 

Brighton and Hove 

15 

Unitary Authority 

University Towns and Cities 

Wiltshire 

16 

Unitary Authority 

Country Living 

Greater London 

17 

Strategic Authority 

London Cosmopolitan 

Walsall 

18 

Metropolitan District 

Industrial and Multi-ethnic 

Warrington 

19 

Metropolitan District 

Prosperous Towns 

Barnsley 

20 

Metropolitan District 

Manufacturing Legacy 

South Tyneside 

21 

Metropolitan District 

Service Economy 

Lancaster  

22 

District Council 

Larger Towns and Cities 

Ribble Valley 

23 

District Council 

Older Farming Communities 

Pendle 

24 

District Council 

Urban Living 

Burnley 

25 

District Council 

Urban Living 

Rossendale 

26 

District Council 

Manufacturing Legacy 

Hyndburn 

27 

District Council 

Urban Living 

Wyre 

28 

District Council 

Sparse English Countryside 

Preston 

29 

District Council 

Larger Towns and Cities 

Fylde 

30 

District Council 

Older Farming Communities 

South Ribble 

31 

District Council 

Prosperous Towns 

Chorley 

32 

District Council 

Prosperous Towns 

West Lancashire 

33 

District Council 

Prosperous Towns 

Dartford 

34 

District Council 

Citi Periphery 

Gravesham 

35 

District Council 

Citi Periphery 

Sevenoaks 

36 

District Council 

Rural-Growth Areas 

Tonbridge and Malling 

37 

District Council 

Rural-Growth Areas 

Tunbridge Wells 

38 

District Council 

Rural-Growth Areas 

Maidstone 

39 

District Council 

Rural-Growth Areas 

Ashford 

40 

District Council 

Country Living 

Swale 

41 

District Council 

Country Living 

Canterbury 

42 

District Council 

University Towns and Cities 

Folkestone and Hythe 

43 

District Council 

Seaside Living 

Dover 

44 

District Council 

Seaside Living 

Thanet 

45 

District Council 

Seaside Living 

Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation Area 

46 

Corporation Area 

Ethnically Diverse Metropolitan Living 

Legacy Corporation Planning Area 

47 

Corporation Area 

London Cosmopolitan 

Dartmoor National Park 

48 

National Park Authority 

Older Farming Communities 

South Downs National Park 

49 

National Park Authority 

Older Farming Communities 

Broads Authority 

50 

National Park Authority 

Country Living 

Peak District National Park 

51 

National Park Authority 

Older Farming Communities 

Blackburn with Darwen 

52 

Unitary Authority 

Industrial and Multi-ethnic 

Darlington 

53 

Unitary Authority 

Service Economy 

North Lincolnshire 

54 

Unitary Authority 

Country Living 

Leicester 

55 

Unitary Authority 

Ethnically Diverse Metropolitan Living 

Telford & Wrekin 

56 

Unitary Authority 

Urban Living 

Peterborough 

57 

Unitary Authority 

Expanding Areas 

Windsor & Maidenhead 

58 

Unitary Authority 

Rural-Urban Fringe 

Cornwall 

59 

Unitary Authority 

Ageing Coastal Living 

Coventry 

60 

Metropolitan District 

Larger Towns and Cities 

Wirral  

61 

Metropolitan District 

Service Economy 

Bradford 

62 

Metropolitan District 

Industrial and Multi-ethnic 

Sunderland 

63 

Metropolitan District 

Mining Legacy 

Havering 

64 

London Borough 

Citi Periphery 

Kingston-upon-Thames 

65 

London Borough 

University Towns and Cities 

Richmond-upon-Thames 

66 

London Borough 

Rural-Urban Fringe 

Hillingdon 

67 

London Borough 

Ethnically Diverse Metropolitan Living 

Enfield 

68 

London Borough 

Ethnically Diverse Metropolitan Living 

City of London 

69 

London Borough 

London Cosmopolitan 

Kensington and Chelsea 

70 

London Borough 

London Cosmopolitan 

Hackney 

71 

London Borough 

London Cosmopolitan 

Camden 

72 

London Borough 

London Cosmopolitan 

Lambeth 

73 

London Borough 

London Cosmopolitan 

South Cambridgeshire 

74 

District Council 

Affluent Rural 

Maldon 

75 

District Council 

Country Living 

Cotswold 

76 

District Council 

Older Farming Communities 

Dacorum 

77 

District Council 

Rural-Growth Areas 

Charnwood 

78 

District Council 

Prosperous Towns 

Oxford 

79 

District Council 

University Towns and Cities 

Sedgemoor 

80 

District Council 

Sparse English Countryside 

Cannock Chase 

81 

District Council 

Manufacturing Legacy 

Mole Valley 

82 

District Council 

Affluent Rural 

Warwick 

83 

District Council 

Larger Towns and Cities 

High Peak 

84 

District Council 

Prosperous Towns 

East Hampshire 

85 

District Council 

Affluent Rural 

Ipswich 

86 

District Council 

Industrial and Multi-ethnic 

Arun 

87 

District Council 

Ageing Coastal Living 

 

You can access the raw data collected during the project here. We have made this available for councils to access and use if they wish to see what other councils charge and to help them undertake benchmarking, or for further research purposes.

Results - Fee Approach

Only 4 of the 87 LPAs we investigated offer a completely free service, meaning 95% of LPAs do charge.  

In addition to the provision of a free service provision, some LPAs provide this service  alongside an otherwise fee carrying service. The form this takes varies, though a ‘duty’ service (either via a desk or/and telephone provision) is common. The free provision where it is provided tends to be for householder matters, though in some cases other minor matters or initial / questions in principle are also included.  

This research did not differentiate the specific element of the pre application service that was provided for free, but rather looked for evidence of some initial (not follow up) element which was not charged for within an otherwise fee carrying service. It is notable that approximately 30% of LPAs provide some form of initial free service. 

Only 40% of LPAs investigated provided clear information on how internal and external consultees are included in the pre-application service.  

3 distinct approaches to a fee carrying service were broadly identified. These were: 

  • The scale of the development being proposed determines the amount of fee levied; 
  • The staff involved i.e. the number and/or seniority determined the amount of fee levied; or 
  • A combination of scale and staffing approach determined the amount of fee levied. 

The overwhelming majority of LPAs (85%) appear to use the scale of development to determine their fee levels, with only 8% a combination of development scale and staff involved, and 2% staff resource only as shown in graph 4. 

The research also investigated the time to respond to a pre-application enquiry. It looked at the time taken for a meaningful reply rather than an acknowledgement for a ‘normal’ pre-application response, noting variations in most instances for complexity that are caveated by some LPAs.  

Results - Ranges in Fees

The range of fee charged for different scales of development created a complex set of data, which is presented for all LPA data based upon: 

Looking across the 87 LPA focused upon in this study, it is possible to see significant variation in the fee that can be anticipated to be paid for the pre-application service provided. These details are summarised below (all prices are from December 2022) and excludes non fee levying councils or add on extra fees (such as additional meetings. 

Development type 

Range of fees charged (from smallest to largest 

Average (from smallest to largest) 

Developments of less that 10 units 

£0 to £7,200 

£103 to £1,090 

Developments of between 10 > 50 units 

£116 to £17,059 (with the second highest £12,362) 

£1,664 to £3,037) 

Developments of between 50 > 250 units 

£118 to £35,000 (with the second highest £22,500) 

£2,777 to £5,187 

Developments of 250+ units 

£116 to £35,000 (with the second highest £22,500) 

£2,505 to £5,237 

Developments of employment, industrial, commercial and retail 

£35 to £22,500 

£535 to £4,626 

Other forms of developments (such as householder, listed buildings, adverts etc) 

0 to £2,010 

£222 to £750 

You can access the raw data collected during the project here. We have made this available for councils to access and use if they wish to see what other councils charge and to help them undertake benchmarking, or for further research purposes.

Results - Response type approaches

With regards to the response type, there is, as expected, a modest shift from a reliance on a written response to a stronger emphasis upon written and meeting approaches as the scale of development increases.  Out of the 87 councils considered 4 of the councils only provided a written response for proposals of less than 10 dwellings and 6 councils only provided a written response for “other” category pre applications (e.g. householder, listed buildings, advertisements etc).  However only 2 councils provided this “no meeting response” for developments of 10 dwellings or more. 

A far more common offer is for a council to only provide a meeting and written response for smaller proposals (less than 10 dwellings) if an additional fee is paid.  This is the situation for 45 out of the 87 councils researched.  For larger proposal (10 or more dwellings) 26 councils provided a service where a meeting was optional at additional cost.  

Fee calculator and ten lessons learnt