Planning Circular 2/2022 The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2022

3. Exemptions

The Regulations provide for exemptions from fees for planning applications and applications for approval of matters specified in conditions (attached to planning permission in principle). This includes:

• Access for disabled persons
• Where permitted development rights are removed by way of an Article 4 Direction
• Where permitted development rights are removed by a condition imposed on a planning permission
• Repeat applications

3.1 Means of access for disabled people

3.1.1 Applications for planning permission to alter or extend an existing dwellinghouse, or to carry out operations within the curtilage of an existing dwellinghouse, are exempt from payment of a fee if the planning authority is satisfied that the proposed development is intended solely to improve access, safety, health or comfort for a disabled person who is living in the house. This also applies to cases where the disabled person is not yet in residence. The exemption does not apply to the construction of a new dwellinghouse. Applications for operations in connection with a building to which the public have access are also exempt from payment of a fee if the planning authority is satisfied that the proposed development is to provide means of access to or within the building for disabled persons. The exemption is not confined to those buildings where there is a statutory obligation to provide such access.

3.2 Article 4 directions

3.2.1 Where a planning application is required to be made only because a direction under Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992 ("the GPDO") has removed permitted development rights, the application is exempt from fees. The GPDO grants planning permission for specified types of development, meaning they can be carried out without a planning application having to be submitted to, and approved by, the planning authority. These national grants of planning permission are sometimes referred to as permitted development rights (PDRs). An Article 4 Direction removes PDRs for particular types of development within the area covered by the Direction.

3.3 Planning conditions removing permitted development rights and rights under the use classes order

3.3.1 Where an application is required to be made only because the right to carry out development permitted by the GPDO has been removed by a condition attached to a planning permission, that application is exempt from fees. Similarly, applications required only because the right to make a change of use within a class of the Use Classes Order has been removed by a condition are exempt.

3.4 Repeat applications

3.4.1 Regulations 11 and 12 provide that, where an application is:

• withdrawn, granted or refused;
• where an appeal has been dismissed by the Scottish Ministers;
• where the applicant has appealed to the Scottish Ministers on the grounds of non-determination by the planning authority of the application; or
• the applicant has required the planning authority to review the application on the grounds of non-determination.

The same applicant may submit, without paying a fee, one further application for the same character or description of development on the same site.

3.4.2 Where the original application was for planning permission in principle, only a "repeat" application for planning permission in principle may be exempt from fees. In the case of an application for AMSC, to be exempt the revised application must relate to the same matters. In any case, the revised application must be made:

• within 12 months of the decision on the earlier application or the appeal;
• in the case of a withdrawn application, within 12 months of the lodging of the earlier one; or,
• in the case of an appeal or review against non-determination, within 12 months of the expiry of the period within which the planning authority are required to decide the application.

3.4.3 An applicant may benefit from this exemption only once for any given site or part of that site. If they need to submit a further revised application, the full fee is payable. The Regulations allow revisions to schemes to include small amounts of land to accommodate revised access arrangements, but in no other circumstances are revisions which include additional land eligible for exemption from fees. In order to benefit from these provisions, it is necessary that the appropriate fee was paid for the original application.

3.4.4 Regulation 13 provides that no fee is payable for a repeat application for a certificate of lawful use or development or a certificate of proposed use or development where a previous application for a certificate of lawful use or development or certificate of proposed use or development:

• has been withdrawn before the authority have issued a decision; or
• has been refused either by the authority or Scottish Ministers.

No fee is payable as long as the application is made:

• within 12 months of the refusal of the earlier application;
• in the case of a withdrawn application, within 12 months of the lodging of the earlier one.
• the application relates to the same site as that to which the earlier application related, or to part of that site and to no other land.
• the planning authority to which the application is made is satisfied that it relates to a use, operation or other matter of the same description as the use, operation or matter to which the earlier application related and to no other use, operation or matter;
• the fee payable in respect of the earlier application was paid; and
• no application made by or on behalf of the same applicant in relation to the whole or any part of the site has already been exempted from payment of a fee by virtue of this regulation or regulation 12 of the 2004 Regulations.

3.5 Revised applications

3.5.1 There may be cases where an applicant wishes to alter a development after planning permission has been granted. If the amendments are of a minor nature they may be dealt with without the requirement for a formal application as provided by Section 64 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (see paragraph 5.4 with regards to the fee involved).

3.5.2 However, where a formal application is required to deal with variations there is an exemption from fee, as described above and designed to cover the same degree of change to development proposals. The exemption applies where planning permission has been given and the same applicant submits one further application for the same character or description of development as that permitted, within 12 months of the grant of the permission and for the same site or part of it. Only one such application will be exempt. Where the original permission was planning permission in principle, only an application for planning permission in principle can be exempt. The exemption also applies to applications for CLUDs, AMSC and to revised applications planning permission in principle where the permission granted was not a planning permission in principle.