The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) Regulations 2012

Made: 21st November 2012

Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 303 and 333(2A) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ;

In accordance with section 303(8)(a) of that Act, a draft of this instrument has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.

Citation, commencement, application and expiry

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• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) Regulations 2012 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

• (2) These Regulations apply in relation to England only.

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) These Regulations apply—

• (za) to the giving of advice about applying under section 62A of the 1990 Act for any permission, approval or consent;

• (a) to applications for planning permission deemed to have been made, by virtue of section 177(5) of the 1990 Act (grant or modification of planning permission on appeals against enforcement notices), in connection with an enforcement notice issued on or after the date on which these Regulations come into force; and

• (b) to the following applications, site visits and requests made on or after the date on which these Regulations come into force—

• (i) applications for planning permission;

• (iiza) applications for permission in principle;

• (ii) applications for approval of reserved matters;

• (iia) applications under section 62A (applications made directly to Secretary of State) of the 1990 Act;

• (iii) applications under section 191 (certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development) or 192 (certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development) of the 1990 Act ;

• (iv) applications under section 293B or 293D of the 1990 Act (urgent Crown development and Crown development applications);

• (v) applications for consent for the display of advertisements;

• (vi) applications under the General Permitted Development Order referred to in regulation 14;

• (vii) site visits to a mining site or a landfill site;

• (viii) requests for confirmation that a condition or conditions attached to a grant of planning permission has or have been complied with;

• (ix) applications under section 96A(4) of the 1990 Act (power to make non-material changes ...); and

• (x) applications under section 17 of the Land Compensation Act 1961 (certificates of appropriate alternative development) .

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the 1980 Act” means the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980;

• “the 1990 Act” means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990;

• “the 1989 Regulations” means the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications and Deemed Applications) Regulations 1989 ;

• “the 2007 Regulations” means the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 ;

• “the Development Management Procedure Order” means the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015;

• “the General Permitted Development Order” means the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015;

• “dwellinghouse” means a building which is used as a single private dwellinghouse and for no other purpose;

• “glasshouse” means a building which—has not less than three-quarters of its total external area comprised of glass or other translucent material;is designed for the production of flowers, fruit, vegetables, herbs or other horticultural produce; andis used, or is to be used, solely for the purposes of agriculture;

• “householder application” has the same meaning as in article 2(1) of the Development Management Procedure Order (interpretation);

• “landfill permission” means any planning permission for—operational development of land designed to be used wholly or mainly for the purpose of; orany material change of use of land to,a waste disposal site for the deposit of waste onto or into the land;

• “landfill site” means the land to which a landfill permission relates;

• “Mayoral development corporation” means a corporation which is—established for a Mayoral development area, andspecified as the local planning authority for the purposes of Part 3 of the 1990 Act for all or part of that area,by an order made by the Secretary of State under section 198 of the Localism Act 2011; and

• “mineral permission” means any planning permission for development consisting of—the winning and working of minerals; orthe depositing of mineral waste;

• “mining site” means—the aggregate of the land to which any two or more mineral permissions relate where the aggregate of the land—is worked as a single site; oris treated as a single site by the local planning authority for the purposes of Schedule 13 (review of old mineral planning permissions) or Schedule 14 (periodic review of mineral planning permissions) to the Environment Act 1995 ; andin any other case, the land to which a mineral permission relates;

• “outline planning permission” and “reserved matters” have the same meaning as in article 2(1) of the Development Management Procedure Order;

• “site visit” means entry by a local planning authority on to a mining site or landfill site—to ascertain whether there is or has been any breach of planning control on the site;to determine whether any of the powers conferred on the local planning authority by Part 7 of the 1990 Act (enforcement) should be exercised in relation to the site;to determine how any such power should be exercised in relation to the site; orto ascertain whether there has been any compliance with any requirement imposed as a result of any such power having been exercised in relation to the site; ...

• “urban development corporation” means a corporation which is—established for an urban development area by an order made by the Secretary of State under section 135 of the 1980 Act; andspecified as the local planning authority for the purposes of Part 3 of the 1990 Act, for all or part of that area in an order made by the Secretary of State under section 149 of the 1980 Act; and

• “use of land” includes use of land for the winning and working of minerals.

• (2) Expressions used in regulation 13 and Schedule 2 have, unless the context otherwise requires, the meaning which they bear in the 2007 Regulations.

Fees for planning applications

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• (1) Subject to regulations 4 to 7 and paragraph 8(2) of Part 1 of Schedule 1, where an application is made to a local planning authority for planning permission for the development of land , for permission in principle or for the approval of reserved matters, a fee shall be paid to that authority.

• (2) The fee payable in respect of the application shall be calculated in accordance with Schedule 1.

• (3) Where a fee is due in respect of an application, the fee shall be paid to the local planning authority with whom the application is lodged and shall accompany the application.

• (4) Where the local planning authority who receive the fee in accordance with paragraphs (1) to (3)—

• (a) are not the local planning authority who have to determine the application; and

• (b) forward the application to that authority,

they shall remit the fee to that authority at the same time as they forward the application to them.

• (5) Any fee paid pursuant to this regulation shall be refunded if the application is rejected as invalid.

Exceptions – access and facilities for disabled persons

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• (1) Regulation 3 shall not apply where the local planning authority to whom the application is made are satisfied that it relates solely to—

• (a) the carrying out of operations—

• (i) for the alteration or extension of an existing dwellinghouse; or

• (ii) in the curtilage of an existing dwellinghouse (other than the erection of a dwellinghouse),

for the purpose, in either case, of providing means of access to or within the dwellinghouse for a disabled person who is resident in, or is proposing to take up residence in, that dwellinghouse, or of providing facilities designed to secure that person's greater safety, health or comfort; or

• (b) the carrying out of operations for the purpose of providing means of access for disabled persons to or within a building or premises to which members of the public are admitted (whether on payment or otherwise).

• (2) In this regulation, “disabled person” means—

• (a) a person who is within any of the descriptions of persons to whom section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 (welfare arrangements for blind, deaf, dumb and crippled persons, etc) applies; ...

• (b) a child who is disabled for the purposes of Part 3 of the Children Act 1989 (local authority support for children and families); or

• (c) a person who is aged 18 or over and has a disability within the meaning given by section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 (disability).

Exceptions – permission granted by General Permitted Development Order not applying

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Exceptions – application relating to same use class necessary because of condition

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Regulation 3 shall not apply where the local planning authority to whom the application is made are satisfied—

• (a) that the application relates solely to the use of a building or other land for a purpose of any class specified—

• (i) on or before 31st August 2020, in the Schedule to the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987, or

• (ii) on or after 1st September 2020, in Schedule 1 or 2 of that Order;

• (b) that the existing use of that building or other land is for another purpose of the same class; and

• (c) that the making of an application for planning permission in respect of the use to which the application relates is necessary by reason of (and only by reason of) the requirements of a condition imposed on a permission granted or deemed to be granted under Part 3 of the 1990 Act.

Exceptions – consolidation of subsisting minerals permissions

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Regulation 3 shall not apply to impose a fee in relation to an application to a local planning authority for permission to carry out development consisting of the winning and working of minerals where the application—

• (a) is for a permission which consolidates two or more subsisting permissions; and

• (b) does not seek permission for development which is not authorised by a subsisting permission.

Exemptions – second application relating to development on same site etc.

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Exemptions – application following withdrawal of earlier application or refusal of permission etc.

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Fees in respect of deemed applications

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• (1) A fee shall be paid to the relevant authority in every case where an application for planning permission is deemed to have been made by virtue of section 177(5) of the 1990 Act ((grant or modification of planning permission on appeals against enforcement notices) (“a deemed application”).

• (2) A fee is only payable in respect of a deemed application under this regulation if a fee would have been payable under these Regulations for an application for planning permission made to the relevant authority on the relevant date in respect of the matters stated in the enforcement notice as constituting a breach of planning control.

• (3) The amount of the fee shall be twice the amount of the fee payable to the relevant authority in respect of the application referred to in paragraph (2).

• (4) The fee shall be paid in respect of the deemed application by every person who has made a valid appeal against the enforcement notice and whose appeal has not been withdrawn before the date on which the Secretary of State issues a notice under paragraph (6).

• (5) The fee shall be paid to the relevant authority.

• (6) The fee shall be paid at such time as the Secretary of State may in the particular case specify by notice in writing to the appellant.

• (7) This regulation shall not apply where the person who has appealed against the relevant enforcement notice had—

• (a) before the date when the notice was issued, made an application to the local planning authority , or, in the case of an application under section 62A of the 1990 Act, the Secretary of State, for planning permission for the development to which the relevant enforcement notice relates (and had paid to the authority the fee payable in respect of that application); or

• (b) before the date specified in the notice as the date on which the notice is to take effect, made an appeal to the Secretary of State against the refusal of the local planning authority to grant such permission,

and at the date when the relevant enforcement notice was issued that application or, in the case of an appeal, at the date specified in the relevant enforcement as the date on which the notice is to take effect, that appeal, had not been determined.

• (8) In the event that the Secretary of State—

• (a) declines jurisdiction on the relevant appeal under section 174 of the 1990 Act (appeal against enforcement notice) on the grounds that it does not comply with one or more of the requirements of subsections (1) to (3) of that section;

• (b) dismisses the relevant appeal in exercise of the powers contained in section 176(3)(a) of the 1990 Act (general provisions relating to determination of appeals) on the grounds that the appellant has failed to comply with section 174(4) of the 1990 Act within the prescribed period; or

• (c) allows the relevant appeal and quashes the relevant enforcement notice in exercise of the powers contained in section 176(3)(b) of the 1990 Act,

any fee paid in respect of the deemed application shall be refunded to the appellant.

• (9) In the event of the relevant appeal under section 174 of the 1990 Act being withdrawn with the result that there are at least 21 days between the date of withdrawal and—

• (a) the date (or in the event of postponement, the latest date) appointed for the holding of an inquiry into that appeal; or

• (b) in the case of an appeal which is being dealt with by way of written representations, the date (or in the event of postponement, the latest date) appointed for the inspection of the site to which the enforcement notice relates,

any fee paid in respect of the deemed application shall be refunded to the appellant.

• (10) For the purpose of paragraph (9) an appeal shall be treated as being withdrawn on the date on which notice in writing of the withdrawal is received by the Secretary of State.

• (11) The reference in paragraph (9)(b) to an appeal being dealt with by way of written representations shall be construed as a reference to an appeal in respect of which neither the appellant nor the local planning authority has asked for an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by the Secretary of State and in respect of which no local inquiry is to be held under section 320 (local inquiries) of, or Schedule 6 (determination of certain appeals by person appointed by Secretary of State) to, the 1990 Act .

• (12) Any fee paid by an appellant in respect of a deemed application shall be refunded to the appellant in the event of the local planning authority withdrawing the relevant enforcement notice before it takes effect or if the Secretary of State decides that the enforcement notice is a nullity.

• (13) Save on the determination of an appeal where the Secretary of State issues a certificate under section 191 of the 1990 Act (certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development) in accordance with section 177(1)(c) of that Act (grant or modification of planning permission on appeals against enforcement notices) , the fee paid by the appellant in respect of a deemed application shall be refunded to the appellant in the event of the Secretary of State allowing the appeal against the relevant enforcement notice on—

• (a) grounds set out in section 174(2)(b) to (f) of the 1990 Act (appeal against enforcement notice); or

• (b) the ground that the notice is invalid, or that it contains a defect, error or misdescription which cannot be corrected in pursuance of the Secretary of State's powers under section 176(1) of the 1990 Act (general provisions relating to determination of appeals) .

• (14) In the case of a deemed application where—

• (a) an enforcement notice is varied under section 176(1) of the 1990 Act otherwise than to take account of a grant of planning permission under section 177(1) of the 1990 Act; and

• (b) the fee calculated in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3) would have been a lesser amount if the original notice had been in the terms of the varied notice,

the fee payable shall be that lesser amount and any excess amount already paid shall be refunded.

• (15) in determining a fee under sub-paragraph (14) no account shall be taken of any change in fees which takes effect after the making of the deemed application.

• (16) In this regulation —

• (a) “relevant authority” means the local planning authority which issued the enforcement notice; and

• (b) “relevant date” means the date on which the appeal against the enforcement notice is made.

Fees for applications for certificates of lawful use or development

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• (1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (8), where an application is made to a local planning authority under section 191 (certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development) or 192 (certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development) of the 1990 Act a fee shall be paid to that authority.

• (2) This regulation shall not apply where the local planning authority to whom the application is made are satisfied that it relates solely to the carrying out of operations specified in regulation 4 for the purposes specified in that regulation.