Customer Access Point, Stowmarket, closed
Due to unforeseen circumstances the Customer Access Point in Stowmarket is currently closed.
For any queries please phone Customer Services on 0300 123 4000 or visit one of our other Customer Access Points
Pay for a planning application
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Planning application fees
Planning application fees are set by the government. The amount you need to pay will depend on the type of application you are making.
Planning Portal have published information about how much a planning application costs on their website. You can also calculate your planning fee with their online tool.
There are some exemptions available, depending on the circumstances.
Planning application fees increase each April. Please see:
- Forthcoming fees for planning applications in England (from Planning Portal)
- Planning fees: annual indexation from 1 April (from the government)
Our pre-application advice service is subject to separate pre-application charges.
If you withdraw a planning application, or it is refused, your fee will not be refunded.
Please note: If you (the applicant) are a parish or town council, we offer a 50% reduction to the fee for a discharge of conditions.
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Pay online
If you are applying for planning permission online via Planning Portal, you must make payment via their website, too.
Your application will not be released to us until you have paid the application fee to them.
You must also pay Planning Portal's administrative charge, if it applies.
Their administrative charge is currently £91 (including VAT) for applications with fees over £100.
Please do not make payments to us that should be paid to Planning Portal. If you do this, it may delay your application being processed. We reserve the right to charge a small administrative fee for refunds of payments that we should not have received.
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If you are applying by email or by post
Please use our online form to make a planning payment, for applications where you have applied via email or by post.
You will need your application reference number, which starts with either 'PP', 'DC/', or 'IAP'.
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If you are paying an additional fee, due to invalidation or error
Please use our second online form if you have been asked to make an additional payment for a planning application, or where you have been asked to pay fees relating to documents that have been requested.
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Pay by bank transfer
Please pay by bank transfer only if you cannot pay online.
If you need to pay by BACS, please call us on 0300 123 4000 (Option 5, Option 3).
The person that you speak to will give you your planning application reference. You will then need to quote this reference when you transfer the money to us.
Once you have made the bank transfer, please email the Planning Team to notify us of payment.
If you do not do this, your planning application may not be registered within our published timescales.
The council is no longer able to accept payment by cheque. If a cheque is received after 1 September 2026, it will be returned.
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Biodiversity Net Gain
Biodiversity Net Gain is an approach to development which makes sure that habitats for wildlife are left in a measurably better state than they were before the development.
Developers must deliver a Biodiversity Net Gain of 10%.
Householders, and other specified developments, are exempt from this requirement.
All offsite and significant onsite Biodiversity Net Gain is secured by a legal agreement. The following criteria confirms that a development is considered to be delivering significant onsite Biodiversity Net Gain:
- The overall net change in Biodiversity Units is 0.5 or more, and or
- the gain relates to habitats of high or very high distinctiveness (as defined within the Statutory Biodiversity Metric User Guide), and or
- in the case of major development, where the gain relates to habitats of medium distinctiveness
We charge a fee to cover the monitoring costs.
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Biodiversity Net Gain monitoring fees
Our fees, outlined in the table below, are applicable to the 2026/27 financial year. They will be reviewed annually, or as necessary.
| Category 1: Minor developments | Category 2: Major developments | Category 3: Large major developments | Category 4: Strategic developments |
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For phased developments, you can either pay the monitoring fee as a lump sum when the S106 decision is made, or you can pay in instalments (providing that the total fee is split across all phases, and each instalment is paid before each phase starts).