The Executive Councillor for Planning and Enforcement, Martin Alder, agreed that Wokingham Borough Council should submit its comments on the government's consultation paper, 'Fees for planning applications'. This decision was made following a review of the proposed changes to national planning fees, which aim to bring them closer to cost recovery.

Fees for Planning Applications: Consultation Response

Wokingham Borough Council will respond to the government's consultation on 'Fees for planning applications' with comments outlined in Appendix 1 of the relevant report. The decision was made by Executive Councillor for Planning and Enforcement, Martin Alder, on 15 May 2026. The consultation, which closed on 18 May 2026, proposed a new national default fee schedule set at 90% of estimated costs, aiming to improve cost recovery for local planning authorities (LPAs) and enhance service delivery.

The proposed changes include restructuring existing fee categories, introducing a 10% surcharge on fees for statutory consultees, and establishing principles for local fee setting to enable LPAs to cover 100% of their costs. The council's response supports the move towards cost recovery, advocating for annual fee indexing and the ability for local fee variations to ensure 100% cost recovery. Wokingham Borough Council also expressed that while a 90% national default fee is a step in the right direction, it still leaves a funding gap.

Specific points raised in the council's response include support for simplified fee structures for outline, full, and reserved matters applications, provided they better align with officer input and complexity. The council also suggested a clearer mechanism for reflecting higher-cost applications with significant constraints and a more robust approach for large, multi-phase developments. They supported introducing fees for previously free prior approval applications and a separate fee for the approval of Biodiversity Gain Plans, acknowledging the specialist work involved.

However, Wokingham Borough Council did not support a general 10% planning fee surcharge for statutory consultees. They argued that this could lead to a lack of assurance that additional costs would translate into improved consultee response times and quality, and that it could create perceived unfairness. Instead, they suggested that funding for statutory consultees should be delivered through existing national funding mechanisms or direct funding arrangements.

The council also indicated support for local fee setting in principle, provided there is clear national guidance on evidencing costs, governance, and transparency. They suggested a cap of 25% for local fee variations to maintain predictability for applicants while allowing for meaningful cost recovery in more expensive areas. The importance of Planning Performance Agreements (PPAs) was also highlighted, with the council stating that any loss of PPA income could impact their ability to deliver essential pre-application work and certain post-application consents.

The decision to submit these comments was made effective on 23 May 2026, following a call-in period that expired on 22 May 2026. The report was considered by Executive Councillor Martin Alder, with officers Justin Turvey, Head of Development Management, and Luciane Bowker, Democratic and Electoral Services Specialist, present. The full details of the council's response can be found in the Public reports pack 15th-May-2026 10.15 Executive - Individual Member Decisions and the Decisions 15th-May-2026 10.15 Executive - Individual Member Decisions.