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:
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Significant variation of fee levels exists, including a minority of LPA still not levying any fee on their pre-application services;
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No clear pattern is evident between LPA type, or indeed between second tier LPA associated with the same upper tier authority;
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No strong geographical pattern is present;
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Fees are, predominantly, based upon fixed fee approaches;
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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;
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The approach in how councils provide pre-application responses is varied, but with clear groupings evident;
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A notable percentage (30%) of fee carrying LPA provide some form of free service;
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Response times are somewhat variable, but most significantly varied by the scale of development being proposed and/or type of response (written/meeting) requested;
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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
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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
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 |
1 |
District Council |
Larger Towns and Cities |
|
2 |
District Council |
Mining Legacy |
|
3 |
District Council |
Manufacturing Legacy |
|
4 |
District Council |
Country Living |
|
5 |
District Council |
Larger Towns and Cities |
|
6 |
District Council |
Urban Living |
|
7 |
District Council |
Seaside Living |
|
8 |
District Council |
Urban Living |
|
9 |
Unitary Authority |
Country Living |
|
10 |
Unitary Authority |
Sparse English Countryside |
|
11 |
Unitary Authority |
Larger Towns and Cities |
|
12 |
Unitary Authority |
Country Living |
|
13 |
Unitary Authority |
Sparse English Countryside |
|
14 |
Unitary Authority |
Urban Living |
|
15 |
Unitary Authority |
University Towns and Cities |
|
16 |
Unitary Authority |
Country Living |
|
17 |
Strategic Authority |
London Cosmopolitan |
|
18 |
Metropolitan District |
Industrial and Multi-ethnic |
|
19 |
Metropolitan District |
Prosperous Towns |
|
20 |
Metropolitan District |
Manufacturing Legacy |
|
21 |
Metropolitan District |
Service Economy |
|
22 |
District Council |
Larger Towns and Cities |
|
23 |
District Council |
Older Farming Communities |
|
24 |
District Council |
Urban Living |
|
25 |
District Council |
Urban Living |
|
26 |
District Council |
Manufacturing Legacy |
|
27 |
District Council |
Urban Living |
|
28 |
District Council |
Sparse English Countryside |
|
29 |
District Council |
Larger Towns and Cities |
|
30 |
District Council |
Older Farming Communities |
|
31 |
District Council |
Prosperous Towns |
|
32 |
District Council |
Prosperous Towns |
|
33 |
District Council |
Prosperous Towns |
|
34 |
District Council |
Citi Periphery |
|
35 |
District Council |
Citi Periphery |
|
36 |
District Council |
Rural-Growth Areas |
|
37 |
District Council |
Rural-Growth Areas |
|
38 |
District Council |
Rural-Growth Areas |
|
39 |
District Council |
Rural-Growth Areas |
|
40 |
District Council |
Country Living |
|
41 |
District Council |
Country Living |
|
42 |
District Council |
University Towns and Cities |
|
43 |
District Council |
Seaside Living |
|
44 |
District Council |
Seaside Living |
|
45 |
District Council |
Seaside Living |
|
46 |
Corporation Area |
Ethnically Diverse Metropolitan Living |
|
47 |
Corporation Area |
London Cosmopolitan |
|
48 |
National Park Authority |
Older Farming Communities |
|
49 |
National Park Authority |
Older Farming Communities |
|
50 |
National Park Authority |
Country Living |
|
51 |
National Park Authority |
Older Farming Communities |
|
52 |
Unitary Authority |
Industrial and Multi-ethnic |
|
53 |
Unitary Authority |
Service Economy |
|
54 |
Unitary Authority |
Country Living |
|
55 |
Unitary Authority |
Ethnically Diverse Metropolitan Living |
|
56 |
Unitary Authority |
Urban Living |
|
57 |
Unitary Authority |
Expanding Areas |
|
58 |
Unitary Authority |
Rural-Urban Fringe |
|
59 |
Unitary Authority |
Ageing Coastal Living |
|
60 |
Metropolitan District |
Larger Towns and Cities |
|
61 |
Metropolitan District |
Service Economy |
|
62 |
Metropolitan District |
Industrial and Multi-ethnic |
|
63 |
Metropolitan District |
Mining Legacy |
|
64 |
London Borough |
Citi Periphery |
|
65 |
London Borough |
University Towns and Cities |
|
66 |
London Borough |
Rural-Urban Fringe |
|
67 |
London Borough |
Ethnically Diverse Metropolitan Living |
|
68 |
London Borough |
Ethnically Diverse Metropolitan Living |
|
69 |
London Borough |
London Cosmopolitan |
|
70 |
London Borough |
London Cosmopolitan |
|
71 |
London Borough |
London Cosmopolitan |
|
72 |
London Borough |
London Cosmopolitan |
|
73 |
London Borough |
London Cosmopolitan |
|
74 |
District Council |
Affluent Rural |
|
75 |
District Council |
Country Living |
|
76 |
District Council |
Older Farming Communities |
|
77 |
District Council |
Rural-Growth Areas |
|
78 |
District Council |
Prosperous Towns |
|
79 |
District Council |
University Towns and Cities |
|
80 |
District Council |
Sparse English Countryside |
|
81 |
District Council |
Manufacturing Legacy |
|
82 |
District Council |
Affluent Rural |
|
83 |
District Council |
Larger Towns and Cities |
|
84 |
District Council |
Prosperous Towns |
|
85 |
District Council |
Affluent Rural |
|
86 |
District Council |
Industrial and Multi-ethnic |
|
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.