A study by the Local Government Association (LGA) has found that there is a £450m shortfall across England and Wales between fees paid for planning applications and the cost of processing them.
The LGA, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, is urging central government to let them set their own planning fee rates. The call follows a British Property Federation survey last month that found two-thirds of its private sector members would be willing to pay increased fees to help under-resourced planning departments keep providing an effective service
On average, 467,000 planning applications are submitted each year and although the changes are more likely to affect housebuilders and developers rather than domestic householders, it is still possible that we will see an increase in planning fees for domestic extensions, loft conversions etc the future.