This popular and widely read blog acts as a Legal Commentary on issues affecting Town & Country Planning including recent changes in planning legislation and judicial rulings in planning cases, as well as some thoughts on other issues arising in the course of my work as a Planning Lawyer. It was originally intended mainly for fellow planning professionals, but all are welcome to read it. The views expressed are my own and nobody else’s.
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Wednesday, 31 July 2019
Fees imposed on prior approval applications for domestic extensions
As expected, the fee regime that has applied for some time to prior approval applications under various parts of the Second Schedule to the GPDO is now to be extended to Part 1, so that prior approval applications for larger domestic extensions will be subject in future to the payment of a fee of £96. This is in line with the amount of the application fee applying to various other prior approval applications. The fee will be payable on prior approval applications under Part 1 that are made on or after 19 August.
The statutory provisions that give effect to this change are the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 [SI 2019 No. 1154], which amends Regulation 14 of the 2012 Fees Regulations as outlined above.
As is the case in respect of certain other prior approval applications under the Second Schedule to the GPDO, the amended regulation provides that where a full planning application has been made for other [associated] development, and the relevant application fee has been paid in respect of that application, then no fee is additionally payable in those circumstances in connection with the prior approval application for the larger domestic extension.
© MARTIN H GOODALL
It's today. But (A4(2)) has not been amended. Do you think they just forgot?
ReplyDeleteI agree that they seem to have forgotten to amend A.4(2). There is a comment on this point in the latest update of the Planning Jungle website (which is well worth the subscription, if you are not already a subscriber).
DeleteThey point out that (in contrast with the provisions applying to other prior approval applications under the Second Schedule to the GPDO) it seems that the prior approval application must be treated as valid if it meets the requirements of Part 1 Class A, paragraph A.4(2) in Schedule 2 to the GPDO, even if the fee has not been paid. This does not, of course, relieve the applicant of the obligation to pay the fee, but it seems that (as a result of A.4(2) not having been amended), the 42-day determination period is still calculated from the date the requisite information is received by the LPA, irrespective of non-payment of the fee. In this case, late payment of the fee does not therefore prevent the immediate commencement of the 42-day period.
I understand that Planning Jungle were alerted to this anomaly by Peterborough City Council. MHCLG cannot have intended to create this situation, and we can no doubt expect a belated amendment of A.4(2) at an early date.