Planning circular 1/2026: planning fees for applications, local reviews and appeals

Reduced fees

B.3 Development crossing planning authority boundaries

Where a development crosses the boundaries between planning authority areas the applicant is required to apply to each authority in whose area parts of the land are situated. However, the applicant is not required to pay the full fee to each planning authority. Amounts should be calculated separately for each application, in the normal way, and then added together. The applicant pays this amount or they pay - if less - an amount equal to 150% of the fee they would have paid had they been able to make one application. The fee is paid to the authorities as per the proportion of the development which occurs in each area.

B.4 Waiving or reducing fees

Regulation 5 of the Application Fees Regulations provides that an authority may waive or reduce any planning fees that would otherwise be payable under the regulations. An authority may only waive or reduce a fee if it has published a charter setting out the circumstances in which they will waive or reduce fees. This could be, for example, where an authority wishes to seek to encourage certain types of development in order to meet a policy objective/outcome, where the viability of development would otherwise be significantly and demonstrably affected, or where the type of development was not envisaged or provided for by the regulations.

If such a charter is published, it must include, but is not limited to, the circumstances where the application relates to development which in the opinion of the authority, has the primary purpose of contributing to a not for profit enterprise or a social enterprise; and where the application relates to development which in the opinion of the planning authority, is likely to contribute to improving the health of residents of the area to which the application relates. As outlined above it is up to authorities to determine what types of development would fall into these categories. If a planning authority waives or reduces any planning fee, it must include its reasons for doing so in the decision notice issued under regulation 28 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 in respect of the relevant application.