Planning application submission costs £195 at Fixed Fee Plans. We send your finished application through the Planning Portal, act as your agent, and deal with the council's questions until it is decided. The council's fee, £548 for a householder application, and the Portal's own charge are paid separately.
The submission is the part of the process that looks easy and is not. Forms, plans and fee have to arrive together, the council writes to the agent not to you, and the queries come at a pace that suits the officer, not your builder. Having someone who knows the sequence is the point.
What does submitting an application involve?
Checking, uploading and chasing. Before we send anything, we compare the pack and drawings with your council's validation list, because an application that cannot be validated stalls, and the council must notify you and return the fee when it cannot validate, according to GOV.UK. After submission, the council confirms it is valid and its decision period begins.
For a non-major application, article 34 of the Development Management Procedure Order sets the period at 8 weeks from receipt, or a longer period agreed in writing. London's councils decided 16,549 householder applications, excluding prior approvals, in the year to June 2026, and 15,451 of them within 8 weeks, according to MHCLG's live table PS2. That is a published count for the whole of London; your own council may be faster or slower, and the borough pages on this site show each one.
What does the Portal charge?
The Planning Portal charges its own fee when the council fee is above £100, and it is paid to the Portal, not the council and not us. A notice from Ashford Borough Council dated 11 September 2026 reports bands at £99 and £149 VAT included, with a nil band for some eligible application types. We cannot read the Portal's own pages with our tools, so the source is a council's notice; check the Portal for your application type before you budget.
We tell you every charge before submission: the council fee, the Portal charge and our own. None is hidden in another, and none is added to ours. Our fee guide lists every council charge in one place.
What happens when the council has questions?
They come to us, and we deal with them. A planning officer may ask for an amended drawing, a missing document or a change to the proposal, and may set a short deadline. We tell you promptly, explain what is being asked in plain words, and say what we recommend, because some requests are minor and some change the scheme.
Where the answer is a small drawing change, we make it and tell you. If the officer wants something that alters the design, we say so, and you choose: amend, argue or accept the risk of refusal. After a decision, we explain the conditions and, where needed, hand you to the discharge of conditions service. If the council has not decided in time, section 78(2) of the 1990 Act allows you to appeal to the Secretary of State, and the Planning Guarantee returns the fee after 16 weeks unless you agreed to an extension. A refusal can go to a householder appeal.
What does it cost, and what is not included?
Our fee is £195. It does not include the drawings or the forms: those are the proposed drawings and application pack services, or all together in our complete planning drawing service at £645 drawings + £150 survey (£795 total). It does not include the council's fee, the Portal's charge or a second application if the first is refused. Our permitted development checker shows whether you need to apply at all.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a householder planning application take?
The council has 8 weeks from receipt of a valid application, unless you agree a longer period in writing. In the year to June 2026, 15,451 of 16,549 London householder applications, excluding prior approvals, were decided within 8 weeks.
Who pays the Portal charge?
You do, to the Portal, when the council fee is over £100. It is not part of the council fee or ours. Ashford Borough Council reported bands of £99 and £149 VAT included on 11 September 2026.
What if the council does not decide in time?
You can appeal against the failure to decide, under section 78(2). The Planning Guarantee also returns the fee if a valid non-major application is not decided within 16 weeks and you have not agreed an extension.
Will you speak to the planning officer for me?
Yes. As your agent, we deal with the officer, answer the questions and tell you what is being asked before we respond to anything that changes the scheme.