Manic Monday: MHCLG launches consultations on Planning Fees, Secretary of State Referrals and New Towns

Earlier today, MHCLG opened three separate planning consultations, all of which close in May, and published a planning policy paper.

This blog takes a quick look at all four sets of documents, which I think justifiably allows me to claim that it’s just another manic Monday…

The documents in question are:

• A consultation on Fees for Planning Applications
• A consultation on the types of applications and decisions that need to be notified the Secretary of State
• A consultation on the New Towns Draft Programme; and
• A policy paper on the implementation proposals for streamlining infrastructure planning

And I am addressing them in the order that they opened on my browser, so things may jump around a little. Also, I fully intend to take a high level approach in this blog (as otherwise it will be less of a quick read and more of a dissertation), so apologies if I skim over an area of particular interest for you!

Now, we have a LOT to cover… so, if you are sitting comfortably, we can begin.

Consultation on Fees for Planning Applications

Let’s start with planning application fees, as they are always a subject of great interest.

MHCLG is consulting on, what can fairly be described as, a complete overhaul of planning application fee system in England. The consultation runs until 11:59pm on 18 May 2026.

At a very high level, the proposals can be summarised as follows:

• To introduce a “National Default Schedule” for England – set at approximately 90% of the actual cost of processing an application. The Schedule would cover most types of planning application, but would exclude TPO and Listed Building Applications.
• The full draft default fee schedule is at Annex A of the consultation paper, but an extract is below – to give an idea of the scale of change.

• To restructure and simplify the fee schedule for outline, full and reserved matters applications so that bandings align with the new development thresholds (i.e. minor, medium and major) and to remove baseline fees.
• To set the planning surcharge for statutory consultees at 10% of the national default fee for the relevant development (regardless if the LPA has chosen to vary the planning fee locally). The Surcharge will only apply to applications made under the TCPA and will not catch NSIPs or local plan matters.
• To allow LPAs to vary the planning fees that apply in their area, subject to public consultation and sufficient evidence being available to justify the changes. Notably, local variations in fees cannot be used to exceed the actual cost of processing an application and LPAs are not allowed to cross-subsidise (i.e. not raising the fee for medium developments to reduce householder application fees). The consultation also makes it clear that planning fee income must be retained for the statutory decision making function and not be used to fund other planning functions – such as CIL monitoring or plan making.
• To significantly scale back the role of PPAs in funding core planning services moving forward.

Consulting the Secretary of State on planning decisions

The consultation on changes to the rules about which applications need to be referred to the Secretary of State runs until 11:59pm on 4 May 2026.

Surprisingly, this consultation is not about the proposal that applications for 150 dwellings or more should be referred to the Secretary of State where the Council is minded to refuse. That is being dealt with separately.

Instead, the consultation is about three new proposed changes:

1. The introduction of new consultation requirements where a Council is minded to refuse planning permission for commercial development with a floorspace of 15,000m² or more; and
2. The introduction of new consultation requirements where LPAs are minded to refuse certain applications relating to nuclear facilities; and
3. The introduction of a new requirement that the Secretary of State be consulted on applications for planning permission for one or more dwellings within a Defence DEPZ, or which would increase the population of residents within a Defence DEPZ, where LPAs are minded to grant permission for an application to which the Office for Nuclear Regulation and / or a Local Authority’s Emergency Planning Team has made (and not withdrawn) an objection.

That final measure is geographically limited, and would only apply in four LPAs, namely: Basingstoke and Deane, Reading, West Berkshire and Wokingham.

The New Towns Draft Programme Consultation

This consultation is a big one, and it runs until 11.59pm on 19 May 2026.

The consultation covers the proposed locations of the seven selected New Towns, the Strategic Environmental Assessments that relate to those locations, the proposed levels of government support and the draft planning policy proposed to support their delivery.

In short, far too much to cover in this blog, so I am going to stick to the headlines:

The proposed New Town locations are:

• Tempsford
• Crews Hill and Chase Park, Enfield
• Leeds South Bank
• Manchester Victoria North
• Thamesmead, Greenwich
• Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc, South Gloucestershire; and
• Milton Keynes

With Crews Hill and Chase Park, Leeds South Bank and Tempsford having been identified as “priority intervention” areas.

Each new town would get a targeted package of government support incorporating funding, help setting up the appropriate delivery vehicle, help with programme governance, the creation of a “New Towns Place Review Panel” to help with design and placemaking issues; and a brand new planning policy.

A draft of that planning policy has been published alongside the consultation and contains the following proposed guidance for decision-making:

Which could make things somewhat interesting for those businesses or development sites already in New Town locations, whilst the shape of the New Towns themselves are being worked up.

Streamlining infrastructure planning: Implementation plans

And finally, MHCLG has also unveiled a policy paper setting out the roadmap for implementing all of the shiny NSIP reforms contained in the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025.

There is a lot of interesting stuff in the roadmap, but as this blog is getting rather long, I am simply going to flag the target implementation timeline, which is set out below: