Planning fees for some agricultural buildings will be massively increased from April 1, after a previous error had kept them artificially low, the government has told the NFU.
The fee for agricultural buildings between 1,000 sq.m and 4,215 sq.m will srise from a single fee of £624 to £5,077, plus £635 for each additional 75 sq.m. This represents an increase of £4,453. The huge hike is alongside more modest increases for other sizes of farm buildings.
After the NFU sought answers on the rise, the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government explained that a mistake had been made with the current rates. The lower of fee of £624 was only supposed to cover an initial 540sqm, with every additional 75sq.m adding an additional £624 to the application fee, but this wasn’t applied.
Planning fees will also be rising annually according to a new index, which will see all other fees rise by 1.7% in 2025. The percentage increase is calculated from the Consumer Price Index 12-month rate.
The full list of changes relevant to agriculture can be viewed HERE.
The irony is that this huge hike comes as the government is promising that farmers are about to benefit from the ‘biggest planning reforms in a generation’. A consultation is expected in the spring setting out proposed national planning reforms ‘to make it quicker for farmers to build farm buildings, barns and other infrastructure they need to boost their food production’, Defra secretary Steve Reed said in January.
In the latest issue of Pig World, we looked at what the industry would like to see change to remove the shackles of current planning policy on farm businesses.