Planning fees to go up by 20 per cent in July with NFU describing move as 'unwelcome'

The NFU says farmers already pay considerable fees
The NFU says farmers already pay considerable fees

Farmers and growers are urged to get their planning applications into their local authorities as soon as they can, as planning fees are set to increase by 20% from July.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has labelled this step as 'unwelcome news'.

The union says farmers already pay considerable fees. For example, fees for agricultural buildings are based on the floor space and range from £80 to £250,000. The NFU says the government did not recognise this when they assessed NFU evidence from the Rural Planning Review.

It is seen as a big issue for many farmers, who can pay thousands for agents to put together applications, with local planning authority charges on top of this.

The government is suggesting the additional money can be used to fund planning departments. It will consult on increasing fees further for local planning authorities who can show they are reforming their service and committing to performance improvements.

The NFU stresses it cannot stop the government bringing in the July fee increase, but ensures farmers they will be lobbying further on this issue.

The union notes that excessive fees will put many farmers off from applying for permissions.

The NFU says that simpler planning rules benefit farmers and reduce local authority workloads so they don’t need to charge more.