Launch of New Payment System for Planning Applications

The Planning Portal, the national planning application service, is opening a new planning application payment service, commencing Monday 10th September.

From this time it will be compulsory to make planning application fee payments directly via the Planning Portal. Once the payment is made (either by the agent or the appointed payee), the application will be released to the relevant local authority together with the application fee.

The service would be charged at £16.67 + VAT (£20), which would be added to the planning fee for each application submitted in order for the portal to cover their costs for providing the new service. The Planning Portal considers that the new service will ‘simplify the planning application process across England, offering a consistent range of payment options and saving us and local authorities time tracking down payments’ which they consider is an issue that can often cause delay at validation of an application.

If the planning fee is less than £1,000, this can either be paid online or a third party can be nominated. In addition, it is also possible to pay over the phone. For planning fees over £1,000 there are also other payment options including ‘BACS payment’ and ‘faster payment’.

If you have any questions about this new service, please do not hesitate to contact us.