Delays in Parliamentary approval mean that the legislation to increase fees by 20% and introduce new categories in regard to applications for Permission in Principle will not come into force until the New Year.
The draft SI was ‘laid’ before parliament and published online on 19th October 2017.
As per the Town and Country Planning Act, any fee amendments have to be approved by both houses of parliament before they become ‘made’.
While this ‘affirmative’ process is generally seen as a formality (no such SI has been rejected since 1969) this action has not yet been scheduled into the order of business for the House of Commons, though it is moving up the list of ‘remaining orders and notices’.
As the legislation will only come into force on the 28th day after it is ‘made’ (not laid), there is currently no fixed date for the changes to take effect.