What planning costs, and how long your council takes
The council's fee is set nationally, so it is the same in every council area. How long a decision takes is not. Below are the fees in force now and the government's own figures for householder applications in the five council areas we cover.
The council's fee
Planning fees in England go up every year on 1 April, by the Consumer Prices Index for the September before1. These fees apply from 1 April 20261.
| What you are applying for | Fee |
|---|---|
| Extending or altering one house (a householder application) | £548 |
| The same works to two or more houses in one application | £1,083 |
| Outbuildings and other works in a house's garden, or gates, fences and walls on its boundary | £272 |
| Prior approval for a larger rear extension or for building upwards (Part 1 Class A or AA) | £249 |
| Prior approval to change an agricultural or other building to a home (Part 3 Classes M, N and Q) | £249, or £536 with building work |
| Lawful development certificate for something you plan to do | Half the full application feeFor a householder extension that is half of £548, so £274. (our sum) |
| Lawful development certificate for something already done | The same as the full application fee |
| Removing or changing a condition on a householder permission | £89 |
| Approval of details a condition asks for (householder) | £89 |
| A non-material change to a householder permission | £46 |
- There is no VAT on planning fees2.
- There is no fee for listed building consent2. Fees are waived when a disabled person who lives, or will live, in the house applies to alter or extend it, or to do works in its grounds, to make access or improve their safety, health or comfort2.
- These are the council's fees only. Drawings, surveys and professional fees are separate. We don't give figures for those because we haven't found a neutral source for them.
Fees are due to change
On 16 July 2026 the government published its response to a consultation on planning fees. It sets out a new national fee schedule meant to recover about 90% of councils' costs3. Draft regulations on legislation.gov.uk would bring fee changes into force on 8 December 20264. When we checked on 14/10/2026 they were still a draft, not law. Until new rules are made, the fees above apply. We'll update this table when they change.
How long councils take
A council must decide a householder application within 8 weeks, unless the applicant agrees a longer period in writing5. That agreement can be an extension of time or a planning performance agreement5. If there is no decision in time, the applicant can appeal. If a non-major application is still undecided after 16 weeks, with no appeal and no longer period agreed, the fee is refunded5.
These are householder decisions in each council area from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, the latest year published6.
| Council area | Decisions | Within 8 weeks | More time agreed | Of those, by the agreed date | Over 8 weeks, no agreement | Refused |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiltshire | 1,677 | 54% | 44% | 97% | 2% | 4% |
| Swindon | 404 | 94% | 5% | 100% | 1% | 7% |
| Somerset | 1,301 | 75% | 21% | 87% | 5% | 7% |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 771 | 52% | 39% | 92% | 9% | 3% |
| North Somerset | 562 | 74% | 19% | 83% | 7% | 6% |
| England (all 310 planning authorities) | 145,609 | 63% | 32% | 93% | 5% | 10% |
Quarter by quarter
| Council area | Quarter | Decisions | Within 8 weeks | More time agreed | Over 8 weeks, no agreement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiltshire | July to September 2025 | 460 | 50% | 48% | 2% |
| Wiltshire | October to December 2025 | 408 | 53% | 46% | 1% |
| Wiltshire | January to March 2026 | 374 | 56% | 42% | 2% |
| Wiltshire | April to June 2026 | 435 | 56% | 42% | 3% |
| Swindon | July to September 2025 | 98 | 90% | 7% | 3% |
| Swindon | October to December 2025 | 92 | 96% | 4% | 0% |
| Swindon | January to March 2026 | 100 | 96% | 3% | 1% |
| Swindon | April to June 2026 | 114 | 95% | 5% | 0% |
| Somerset | July to September 2025 | 402 | 72% | 25% | 3% |
| Somerset | October to December 2025 | 315 | 81% | 16% | 3% |
| Somerset | January to March 2026 | 274 | 74% | 20% | 6% |
| Somerset | April to June 2026 | 310 | 72% | 21% | 7% |
| Bath and North East Somerset | July to September 2025 | 197 | 51% | 38% | 12% |
| Bath and North East Somerset | October to December 2025 | 189 | 49% | 44% | 7% |
| Bath and North East Somerset | January to March 2026 | 168 | 46% | 47% | 7% |
| Bath and North East Somerset | April to June 2026 | 217 | 61% | 30% | 8% |
| North Somerset | July to September 2025 | 170 | 79% | 16% | 5% |
| North Somerset | October to December 2025 | 143 | 68% | 24% | 8% |
| North Somerset | January to March 2026 | 113 | 77% | 16% | 7% |
| North Somerset | April to June 2026 | 136 | 72% | 18% | 10% |
How to read this
- "Within 8 weeks" and "over 8 weeks" count applications with no extra time agreed. "More time agreed" counts applications with a planning performance agreement or an extension of time; the publisher also puts environmental impact assessment cases in this group7.
- A decision with more time agreed isn't late: the applicant agreed to it in writing5. Some councils ask for extensions more than others, so the share decided within 8 weeks alone doesn't tell you which council is quicker.
- These figures describe decisions the council made, not how long your application will take. They are not a ranking. England's figure is our sum of every planning authority in the same file. Percentages are rounded, so a row may not add up to 100.
- The latest quarter is April to June 2026. The government publishes a new quarter every three months, and we update this page when it does.
If it's refused
For applications dated on or after 1 April 2026, an appeal against refusal of a householder application must reach the Planning Inspectorate within 12 weeks of the date on the decision notice8. A refused minor commercial application also has 12 weeks. For other refused applications, including listed building consent, the limit is 6 months8. Shorter limits apply where an enforcement notice has been served8. Applications dated on or before 31 March 2026 follow an earlier guide9.
This page is a guide to published figures and rules, not legal advice. Your council decides your application.
Next
Sources
Figures from the statistics and the fee schedule: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data retrieved 14/10/2026.
- Planning fees: annual indexation from 1 April 2026 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (GOV.UK). Open Government Licence v3.0 (gov.uk). Page updated 27/02/2026. Checked 14/10/2026.
- Fees for planning applications (planning practice guidance) GOV.UK (gov.uk). Page updated 16/04/2025. Checked 14/10/2026.
- Fees for planning applications: government response GOV.UK (gov.uk). Page updated 16/07/2026. Checked 14/10/2026.
- Draft: The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 legislation.gov.uk (legislation.gov.uk). Checked 14/10/2026.
- Determining a planning application (planning practice guidance) GOV.UK (gov.uk). Page updated 08/04/2026. Checked 14/10/2026.
- Live tables on planning application statistics (PS2 district statistics, last 4 quarters) Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (GOV.UK). Open Government Licence v3.0 (gov.uk). Page updated 24/09/2026. Checked 14/10/2026.
- District matters data dictionary Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (GOV.UK) (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk). Checked 14/10/2026.
- Planning appeals: procedural guide, for appeals relating to applications dated on or after 1 April 2026 GOV.UK (Planning Inspectorate) (gov.uk). Page updated 14/10/2026. Checked 14/10/2026.
- Planning appeals: procedural guide, for appeals relating to applications dated on or before 31 March 2026 GOV.UK (Planning Inspectorate) (gov.uk). Page updated 16/07/2026. Checked 14/10/2026.