Foundation pads being dug for a new farm building on a hardcore base, with a telehandler, mini digger and laser level on site

Planning Application Fees Rise on 8 December 2026: What It Means for Farmers

Planning application fees in England are going up on 8 December 2026. The government is moving to a new national default fee schedule, set at around 90% of what it costs a council to process each type of application. The change is subject to Parliamentary approval and will apply to applications made on or after 8 December. If you have a barn conversion, a new farm building or a change of use in the pipeline, the date you submit now has a price attached to it.

What Is Changing on 8 December 2026

Every planning fee in England is being reset against a single test: what does it cost the council to deal with this application? The new default fee is set at around 90% of that cost. Some fees barely move. Others rise sharply.

The date your application is made decides which fee you pay. Applications made before 8 December pay today's fees, even if the council decides them in the new year. Applications made on or after 8 December pay the new fees.

A few of the headline changes:

  • The fee to discharge conditions on most applications rises from £309 to £435. For householder applications it rises from £89 to £125.
  • The maximum fee for the largest applications rises from £427,537 to £513,512.
  • The annual inflation increase returns on 1 April 2027, so fees will keep climbing after December.

How Much More Farmers Will Pay

For farm planning, the figures that matter most are prior approvals and agricultural buildings. Prior approval is the council's check on development that is already allowed under permitted development rights, the national rules that let farms build and convert without a full planning application.

Under the government's proposals:

  • Prior approval for a new agricultural building (Part 6) rises from £249 to £310.
  • Class R, the right to turn a farm building into a commercial use, rises from £249 to £310.
  • Class Q, the right to turn a farm building into a home, rises from £249 to £310 where no building work is needed, and from £536 to £667 where building work is included.
  • A full planning application for an agricultural building up to 465 square metres rises from £127 to £147. Larger buildings move to a new structure of £707 for every 75 square metres above 465.
  • A change of use of land or buildings, for example to a farm shop, wedding venue or storage yard, rises from £610 to £732.

These are the figures set out in the government's fee proposals published in 2026. Check the final fee schedule before you submit, as the figures are still subject to Parliamentary approval.

The bigger change comes later. Separate regulations are expected later in 2026 that would let councils set fees up to 30% above the national default where they can evidence their costs. A surcharge of around 10% is also proposed to fund statutory consultees, the bodies councils must ask for advice on things like flood risk, highways and heritage. Over time, the same application could cost noticeably more in one district than the next.

These changes apply to England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own planning fees.

What This Means for Your Farm Business

If your application is nearly ready, submitting before 8 December could save you money. On a Class Q scheme with building work, the saving on the fee alone is £131. On a larger agricultural building or a change of use, it is more.

Do not rush an application that is not ready. A weak or incomplete application is a false saving. A refusal costs far more than the fee difference: new drawings, a fresh fee, and a lost season while you wait for a second decision.

Plan for conditions. Most approvals come with conditions that must be cleared before or during the build. Each discharge application made after 8 December pays the new fee, even if your permission was granted before that date. A scheme with several conditions to clear will cost more to see through than it did a year ago.

Budget for your council, not the national average. Once local fee setting arrives, two farms in neighbouring districts could pay different fees for the same proposal. Check the fee with your council shortly before you submit.

Keep the fee in proportion. On most farm schemes the council fee is a small part of the total cost. Drawings, surveys, ecology and biodiversity net gain usually cost far more. Getting the route and the evidence right first time is where the real saving lies.

How Foxes Rural Can Help

You know what your farm needs. We help you get the council to agree. If you have a Class Q barn conversion, a Class R scheme, a new agricultural building or a farm diversification project in mind, we will tell you plainly what can be done, by which route, and whether it can be ready to submit before 8 December. Farm planning is all we do, and our team manages your application from start to finish. We work with farmers across the UK, so whether you are looking for farm planning consultants in Suffolk or further afield, we can help.

Call us on 01206 481981 or get in touch through our Contact page to talk through your project.