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The Infrastructure Planning (Fees) Regulations 2010

S.I. 2010/106 · Made 25 January 2010 · Extends to England, Wales and Scotland

Up to date with all changes known to legislation.gov.uk, revised to 8 June 2026.

Infrastructure Planning

Made 25th January 2010

Laid before Parliament 1st February 2010

Coming into force 1st March 2010

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 4 and 232(3) of the Planning Act 2008f1, makes the following Regulations:

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

2008 c.29

Contents

  1. Part 1: Introduction
  2. 1Citation and commencement
  3. 2Interpretation
  4. Part 2: Charging of fees by the Secretary of State
  5. 2AFee in respect of pre-application services
  6. 3Fee in respect of authorisation under sections 52 and 53
  7. 4Fee in respect of venue costs
  8. 5Fee to accompany an application
  9. 6Fee in respect of the initial decision
  10. 7Fee in respect of handling an application
  11. 8Initial payment in respect of the handling of an application
  12. 9Final payment in respect of the handling of an application
  13. 10Direction made under section 35
  14. 11Intervention by the Secretary of State under section 112 Repealed
  15. 12Fees payable on or after 1st April 2018
  16. Part 3: Charging of fees by public authorities
  17. 12AFees in relation to the provision of relevant services
  18. Part 4: Review
  19. 13Review
  20. Signature
  21. Schedule 1Pre-application services
  22. Schedule 2Prescribed Public Authorities
  23. Explanatory note

1Citation and commencementI1

These Regulations may be cited as the Infrastructure Planning (Fees) Regulations 2010 and shall come into force on 1st March 2010.

2InterpretationI1

(1)

In these Regulations—

  • “the Act” means the Planning Act 2008;

  • “applicant” means an applicant for an order granting development consent or a person who proposes to apply for such an order;

  • F1“applicant” means—

    1. (a)

      for the purposes of Part 2, an applicant for an order granting development consent or a person who proposes to apply for such an order;

    2. (b)

      for the purposes of Part 3, an applicant or a person who proposes to apply for—

      1. (i)

        an order granting development consent, or

      2. (ii)

        an order to change or revoke such an order granting development consent.

  • “application” means—

    1. (a)

      for the purposes of Part 2, an application for an order granting development consent;

    2. (b)

      for the purposes of Part 3, an application or proposed application for—

      1. (i)

        an order granting development consent, or

      2. (ii)

        an order to change or revoke such an order granting development consent.

  • “application” means an application for an order granting development consent;

  • F2“appointed person” means a person appointed by the Secretary of State under sections 65 (appointment of members, and lead member, of Panel) or 79 (appointment of single appointed person);

  • “Examining authority” means the Panel or single F3appointed person appointed to examine the application;

  • “hearing” has the same meaning as in section 95(2);

  • F4“the land” has the same meaning as in section 102(9);

  • “local authority” has the same meaning as in section 102(8).

(2)

In these Regulations any reference to a section is a reference to a section of the Act.

(3)

In these Regulations any reference to the receipt by the Secretary of State of a payment by way of a fee is a reference to the Secretary of State having received cleared finds in respect of the full amount of the fee.

(4)

In these Regulations any reference to a failure to pay a fee is a reference to the Secretary of State not having received cleared funds in respect of the full amount of the fee or having received payment of the full amount by cheque which has subsequently been dishonoured.

2AFee in respect of pre-application servicesF1

(1)

Where the applicant notifies the Secretary of State of a proposed application and requests pre-application services in relation to that proposed application, the Secretary of State may charge the applicant a fee in relation to the provision of those services.

(2)

The fee payable is £2300 multiplied by the number of relevant days.

(3)

The Secretary of State must notify the applicant in writing of the number of relevant days and the fee.

(4)

The applicant must pay the fee to the Secretary of State within the period of 28 days beginning with the date of the notice referred to in paragraph (3).

(5)

If the applicant fails to pay the fee within the period specified in paragraph (4) the Secretary of State need take no further steps in relation to the proposed application until payment has been received by the Secretary of State.

(6)

The Secretary of State may waive the fee (in whole or in part) in relation to the proposed application.

(7)

The fee referred to in paragraph (1) must not exceed the costs reasonably incurred by the Secretary of State in providing the pre-application services.

(8)

For the purposes of this regulation—

  • “pre-application services” means services provided to the applicant by the Secretary of State in connection with the Secretary of State’s major infrastructure functions in relation to a proposed application and include the services listed in Schedule 1;

  • “relevant day” means a day on which the Secretary of State provides pre-application services.

3Fee in respect of authorisation under sections 52 and 53I1

(1)

The F1Secretary of State must charge a fee of F2£1,500 in relation to each of the following requests—

(a)

a request for authorisation under section 52(2) (obtaining information about interests in land);

(b)

a request for authorisation under section 53(1) (rights of entry).

(2)

The fee must be paid at the same time that the request is made.

(3)

If the applicant fails to pay the fee the Secretary of State need not consider the request until payment is received by the Secretary of State.

4Fee in respect of venue costsI1

(1)

Where the applicant does not provide a venue for a hearing the F1Secretary of State may charge a fee in respect of the venue costs.

(2)

In paragraph (1) “venue costs” means—

(a)

where the Secretary of State causes a hearing to be held, the costs reasonably incurred by the Secretary of State in respect of that hearing; or

(b)

where the Secretary of State makes arrangements for a hearing to be held but it does not take place, the costs reasonably incurred by the Secretary of State in respect of those arrangements.

(3)

The Secretary of State must notify the applicant in writing of the amount of the fee.

(4)

The fee must be received by the Secretary of State within the period of 28 days beginning with the date of the notice referred to in paragraph (3).

(5)

If the applicant fails to pay the fee within the period specified in paragraph (4), the Secretary of State need take no further steps in relation to the application until payment has been received by the Secretary of State.

5Fee to accompany an applicationI1

(1)

The F1Secretary of State must charge the applicant a fee in respect of the decision by the Secretary of State under section 55 (acceptance of applications) whether or not to accept the application.

(2)

The fee payable is F2£6,750.

(3)

The fee must be paid at the same time that the application is made.

(4)

If the applicant fails to pay the fee, the Secretary of State need not consider the application until payment is received by the Secretary of State.

6Fee in respect of the initial decisionI1

(1)

Following a decision under section 61 (initial choice of panel or single F1appointed person) the Secretary of State must notify the applicant in writing, as soon as reasonably practicable, of the pre-examination fee.

F2(2)

The pre-examination fee is—

(a)

where a single appointed person will handle the application, £19,500;

(b)

where a Panel of two appointed persons will handle the application, £32,250;

(c)

where a Panel of three appointed persons will handle the application, £45,000;

(d)

where a Panel of more than three appointed persons will handle the application, £64,500.

(3)

The pre-examination fee must be received by the Secretary of State within the period of 28 days beginning with the date of the notice referred to in paragraph (1).

(4)

If the applicant fails to pay the pre-examination fee within the period specified in paragraph (3), the Secretary of State need take no further steps in relation to the application until payment has been received by the Secretary of State.

7Fee in respect of handling an applicationI1

(1)

The F1Secretary of State must charge the applicant a fee in respect of the Examining authority’s handling of the application.

(2)

The fee payable is—

(a)

an initial payment calculated in accordance with regulation 8; and

(b)

a final payment calculated in accordance with regulation 9.

8Initial payment in respect of the handling of an applicationI1

(1)

Following the preliminary meeting under section 88 (initial assessment of issues, and preliminary meeting) the F1Secretary of State must, as soon as reasonably practicable, give the applicant notice in writing of—

(a)

the number of estimated relevant days;

(b)

whether the application is to be handled by a Panel or a single appointed person, and if a Panel, the number of appointed persons who are to be appointed; and

(c)

the initial payment.

(2)

In this regulation—

  • “estimated relevant day” means a day estimated by the Examining authority as required for examining the application;

  • F2“initial payment” in relation to a notice under paragraph (1) means—

    1. (a)

      where the examination is to be handled by a single appointed person, £923 for each estimated relevant day;

    2. (b)

      where the examination is to be handled by a Panel of two appointed persons, £1,467 for each estimated relevant day;

    3. (c)

      where the examination is to be handled by a Panel of three appointed persons, £2,010 for each estimated relevant day;

    4. (d)

      where the examination is to be handled by a Panel of more than three appointed persons, £3,060 for each estimated relevant day.

(3)

The initial payment must be received by the Secretary of State within the period of 28 days beginning with the date of the notice referred to in paragraph (1).

(4)

If the applicant fails to pay the initial payment within the period specified in paragraph (3), the Secretary of State need take no further steps in relation to the application until payment has been received by the Secretary of State.

9Final payment in respect of the handling of an applicationI1

(1)

Following notification of the completion of the examination under section 99 (completion of Examining authority’s examination of application) the F1Secretary of State must, as soon as reasonably practicable, give the applicant notice in writing of the final payment.

F2(2)

The final payment is—

(a)

where a single appointed person has examined the application, £1,845 for each relevant day;

(b)

where a Panel of two appointed persons has examined the application, £2,933 for each relevant day;

(c)

where a Panel of three appointed persons has examined the application, £4,020 for each relevant day;

(d)

where a Panel of more than three appointed persons has examined the application, £6,120 for each relevant day;

less the initial payment referred to in regulation 8.

F3(3)

In this regulation “relevant day” means a day in the period beginning with the start day referred to in section 98(2) (timetable for examining, and reporting on, application) and ending with the completion of the examination, excluding—

(a)

a Saturday or a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 is a bank holiday in England and Wales, unless any such day was required for the handling of the application;

(b)

any day in respect of which in relation to the application there was a suspension under section 108 (suspension during review of national policy statement) or regulation 16 or 17 (accepted applications) of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009; or

(c)

any day which, in relation to the application, the Secretary of State notifies the applicant under regulation 9(1) was not a relevant day due to sickness or such other circumstances as he may notify to the applicant.

(4)

The final payment must be received by the Secretary of State within the period of 28 days beginning with the date of the notice referred to in paragraph (1).

(5)

If an applicant fails to pay the final payment within the period specified in paragraph (4) the Secretary of State may F4... extend the deadline for report to the Secretary of State by the extended period.

(6)

Where the Secretary of State extends the deadline under paragraph (5), the timetable under section 98(3) F5... shall be extended accordingly.

(7)

In F6paragraph (5) “extended period” means the period beginning with the day after that on which the final payment should have been received in accordance with paragraph (4) and ending with that on which the final payment is received.

10Direction made under section 35I1

Regulations 5 and 6 shall not apply in relation to any application for consent or authorisation which is treated as an application for an order granting development consent pursuant to a direction made by the Secretary of State under F1section 35ZA(3)(a) (directions under section 35: procedural matters).

11Intervention by the Secretary of State under section 112F1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12Fees payable on or after 1st April 2018F1

(1)

Each relevant fee is increased by the appropriate percentage on 1st April 2018, and on 1st April in each subsequent year, if the appropriate percentage is greater than zero

(2)

The appropriate percentage is the CPI 12-month percentage rate published for the preceding September.

(3)

The amount of any increase is in pounds sterling, rounded up or down to the nearest pound.

(4)

In any year, the increase in a relevant fee described in paragraph (1) applies only where the obligation to pay that fee arises on or after 1st April in that year.

(5)

In this regulation—

  • “the CPI 12-month percentage rate” means the measure of the change in prices between one month and the same month in the subsequent year, published by the Statistics Board, a body corporate established by section 1 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007; and

  • “relevant fee” means any fee prescribed in any of regulations F22A, 3, 5, 6, 8 or 9.

12AFees in relation to the provision of relevant servicesF1F2

(1)

The public authorities listed in Schedule 2 are prescribed for the purposes of section 54A(1) (power to provide for fees for certain services in relation to nationally significant infrastructure projects).

(2)

Subject to paragraph (4), each public authority listed in Schedule 2 may charge fees to the applicant in relation to the provision of those relevant services.

(3)

Fees may take account of the expenses of anything which is reasonably incidental to the provision of the relevant services by the public authority.

(4)

The public authority may charge fees under paragraph (2) only in accordance with a statement published on its website which—

(a)

describes the relevant services in respect of which fees are charged,

(b)

sets out the fees (or, if applicable, the method by which the fees are to be calculated), and

(c)

refers to any provision in an enactment pursuant to which the relevant services are provided.

(5)

The public authority may notify the applicant in writing of the estimated fees before providing the relevant services.

(6)

The public authority must notify the applicant in writing of the fees.

(7)

The applicant must pay the fees to the public authority within such period as may be specified in the notice in paragraph (6), provided such period is not less than 21 days beginning with the date of that notice.

(8)

If the applicant fails to pay the fees within the period specified in paragraph (7), the public authority may—

(a)

recover from the applicant as a civil debt the unpaid amount of the fees; and

(b)

if applicable, notwithstanding any requirement to provide the relevant services, withhold the relevant services until the fees are paid.

(9)

The fees referred to in paragraph (2) must not exceed the costs reasonably incurred by the public authority in providing the relevant services.

(10)

This regulation is without prejudice to any power to charge fees under section 43(1) of the Environment Act 1995, section 27 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and section 33(6) of the National Heritage Act 1983.

(11)

For the purposes of this Part “the estimated fees” means the amount of fees estimated by the public authority as payable by the applicant for relevant services in respect of the application.

13ReviewF1

(1)

The Secretary of State must from time to time—

(a)

carry out a review of the regulatory provision contained in these Regulations; and

(b)

publish a report setting out the conclusions of the review.

(2)

The first report must be published before 6 April 2022.

(3)

Subsequent reports must be published at intervals not exceeding 5 years.

(4)

Section 30(4) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 requires that a report published under this regulation must, in particular—

(a)

set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory provision referred to in paragraph (1)(a);

(b)

assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved;

(c)

assess whether those objectives remain appropriate; and

(d)

if those objectives remain appropriate, assess the extent to which they could be achieved in another way which involves less onerous regulatory provision.

(5)

In this regulation, “regulatory provision” has the same meaning as in sections 28 to 32 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (see section 32 of that Act).

Signature

Signed by the authority of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Ian Austin

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Communities and Local Government

25th January 2010

Schedule 1Pre-application servicesF1

Table

Description of pre-application services
Giving of advice to the applicant under section 51(1) (Advice to potential applicants and others).
Services provided to the applicant in relation to the environmental impact assessment process under the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.
Services provided to the applicant in relation to section 98 (Timetable for examining, and reporting on, applications).
Services provided to the applicant in relation to any matters which the Secretary of State thinks may be both important and relevant to the Secretary of State’s decision under section 104 (Decisions in cases where national policy statement has effect) and section 105 (Decisions in cases where no national policy statement has effect).

Schedule 2Prescribed Public AuthoritiesF1

  • The Environment Agency

  • Natural England

  • Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England

  • National Highways

  • The Coal Authority

  • The Health and Safety Executive

  • Marine Management Organisation

  • Natural Resources Wales

  • F2A local authority in whose area the land is situated

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Planning Act 2008 (“the Act”) provides for the granting of an order for development consent for development which is or forms part of a nationally significant infrastructure project. Development consent is required for certain types of energy, water, waste water, transport and waste projects. The Act also establishes the Infrastructure Planning Commission (“the Commission”) which is responsible for examining, and in most cases, determining applications for development consent. Section 4 of the Act enables the Secretary of State to make regulations for the charging of fees by the Commission in relation to the performance of any of its functions.

These Regulations make provision for the payment of fees by an applicant or potential applicant, to the Commission in respect of handling applications made under the Act. The Regulations specify the circumstances in which a fee may be charged, the amount payable and the effect where the fee is not received by the Commission. The Regulations also ensure the Commission can charge:

  • fees (except for those under regulations 5 and 6) in respect of any application which is subject to a direction by the Secretary of State under section 35 of the Act (regulation 10); and

  • fees where a direction is made by the Secretary of State under section 113(3)(a) of the Act (regulation 11).

Provision is made for payment of a fee in relation to requests under sections 52 and 53 of the Act (regulation 3). In relation to an application for an order granting development consent a fee is payable on submission of the application (regulation 5), once the Examining authority is appointed (regulation 6), at the start of the examination of the application by the Commission (regulations 7 and 8) and on completion of examination (regulation 9). The fees paid during examination comprise of two payments which include the cost of the examination of the application as well as the costs of the decision following the examination. The rates set out in these regulations are based on a daily rate which normally accumulates for each day in the examination period (generally excluding weekends and public holidays), with 50% of the overall estimated fee paid at the start of the examination. Further fees are payable where the applicant does not provide the venue facilities for any hearing required in relation to the application for an order granting development consent; the Regulations make provision for payment, by the applicant, of the costs reasonably incurred by the Commission (regulation 4).

An impact assessment has been prepared in relation to these Regulations. This assessment has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament and copies may be obtained from the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Division, Department of Communities and Local Government, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London, SW1E 5DU (telephone 0303 444 1613).