Planning applications

Application submission requirements and fees

In this section

Planning application process

The Development Management Customer Service Charter sets out how we aim to deal with your planning application.

The planning process usually takes eight weeks (or 13 weeks for major applications) and includes a site visit by the case officer and consultation with neighbours, statutory bodies and other interested bodies before a decision is made. However, some applications may go to the Planning Committee, which may extend the determination period.

Planning application decision notice

Following a decision, we will issue a notice and send it to the agent or applicant, if there is no agent. We will also upload the notice to our Planning Online System.

Appeals

You have a right to appeal in the event your planning application is refused. Please see the GOV.UK website for guidance on planning appeals.

If you are unhappy with the decision, you can submit a complaint via the council’s complaints procedure. You can also complain to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.

Planning application validation

You must submit the below supporting documentation with your planning application for the application to be valid:

a completed application form (whether submitting online or by post)
a location plan
a local biodiversity checklist (docx)
a Community Infrastructure Levy additional information form (see guidance on the Planning Portal for help completing the form)
a Biodiversity Net Gain Statement

You may need to submit additional documentation depending on the complexity of your application, including:

a Draft Unilateral Undertaking/Agreement (doc)
a Draft Section 106 Agreement (doc)
Note: From 1 January 2024 a monitoring fee will apply, please find more information online.
a design and access statement (view the guidance note (PDF))

You can use our Validation Checklist (PDF) to check what documents are required to validate your application.

For advice and guidance before submitting a planning application, please visit our pre-application advice page.

Energy statement

An energy statement is required for:

all new residential units (including conversions)
non-residential development (including change of use, conversions and extensions) with a floor area over 500 metres squared

The statement must show how your development has been designed to meet the requirements of policy DM4 of the Development Management Policies Local Development Document. This policy stipulates that developments must produce at least 5% fewer carbon dioxide emissions than Building Regulations Part L (2013) requirements, taking into account feasibility and viability.

For more information, see our guidance on developing an energy statement (PDF).

Affordable housing requirement

There is a pressing need for new, affordable housing in Three Rivers District. Our current affordable housing policy is set out in policy CP4 of the Core Strategy.

We reviewed the evidence related to policy CP4 in July 2025 (PDF). Our position has been approved by inspectors, who continue to agree with the approach taken when considering planning appeals.

All planning applications are assessed against the affordable housing requirement under CP4 of the Core Strategy. See a list of planning application appeal decisions related to the affordable housing requirement.

Under the policy, all new developments that result in a net gain of one or more new dwellings or exceed 1,000 square metres must contribute to the provision of affordable housing either through on-site affordable homes or an off-site financial contribution.

If you are willing to contribute to the affordable housing requirement by providing on-site affordable homes, you must submit either a Draft Section 106 Agreement (doc) or a Draft Unilateral Undertaking (doc).

Unless material considerations indicate otherwise, residential developments that are not major developments under The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) must also contribute towards increasing the number of affordable homes in the district by way of a financial contribution.

The financial contribution is calculated according to the Approved Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (PDF) and is shown in the table below as a sum per square metre of the gross internal floor area. The contribution amount varies depending on the location.

Location	Contribution per square metre
Oxhey and Watford Fringe	£350 per sqm
Rickmansworth South and Maple Cross	£550 per sqm
The Langleys and Croxley	£750 per sqm
Rickmansworth and Hinterland	£950 per sqm
Highest Value Three Rivers	£1,250 per sqm

The sum per square metre is index-linked to the Retail Price Index from June 2011 and may, given recent inflation, be a significant amount. If in any doubt, developers should calculate the indexation sum that will be due at the application stage, as it may affect the viability of the development.

If you do not consider the required affordable housing contribution (including indexation from June 2011) to be viable, you must submit an application for a Viability Assessment/Financial Appraisal and pay an accompanying fee. The fee varies according to the scale of the development and must be made as a separate payment from the planning application fee. Fees from January 2023 are detailed below:

9 units or less: £2,000 plus VAT
10 or more units: Fee to be negotiated on an individual basis depending on whether a Quantity Surveyor (QS) and/or other consultants are required
On larger schemes where no QS is involved it is anticipated that the fee would be in the region of £2,500 to £3,000 + VAT
On schemes where the applicant has provided a build cost plan and an independent QS is required to assess it, the cost would be in the range of £1,000 to £2,000 + VAT depending on the complexity of the scheme.

Please refer to the guidance on the GOV.UK website when preparing your Viability Assessment.

Planning application forms, fees and submission

We encourage all applicants to submit planning applications online. Online providers may also collect the payment direct and transfer to us. You can find details of online submission providers by searching for "submit a planning application" on your chosen internet search engine.

If you prefer, you can submit your application and supporting documents via email to dc.online@threerivers.gov.uk or by post to:

Three Rivers House
Northway
Rickmansworth
WD3 1RL

You will need to call 01923 776611 to pay for your application.

Planning application forms can be downloaded via the Planning Portal or the Government website.

Please ensure you submit the correct application form for the type of work you wish to carry out. Plans must be clear and precise, in line with our Validation Checklist (PDF).

Fees

Fee Regulations made in 2023 established an annual fee uplift in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), for the preceding September, rounded to the nearest £1.

From 1 April 2025, most planning application fees are increased by 1.7% other than those amended by the 2025 regulations. The fees which are being increased by an amount different to the 1.7% relate to applications for the enlargement, improvement or alteration of a dwelling house, some prior approvals and for discharge of conditions. The regulations also introduce a new three tier banding to fees for section 73 applications.

You can view details of planning application fees on the Planning Portal's "What it costs" page and an updated fees table from the Planning Portal can be viewed here.

In addition, the government have published a document setting out the fees and this can be viewed here: View the fees from 1 April 2025 (PDF).

Post determination

Following a decision, we will issue a notice and send it to the agent or applicant, if there is no agent. We will also upload the notice to our Planning Online System.

In the event of an approval you may require the following guidance:

Compliance with Community Infrastructure Levy requirements
Discharge of Conditions/Appeal a Condition
Vary or Remove a Condition
Non Material Amendment
Modify or Discharge a Section 106 Obligation
Building Control

In the event of a refusal you may require the following guidance:

Appeal the decision
Pre Application Stage
Duty Planner Service

If you are unhappy with the decision, you can submit a complaint via the council’s complaints procedure.

You may also want to consider:

Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman
Judicial Review

Customer Service Charter and performance

Our Development Management Customer Service Charter (PDF) sets out the level of service you can expect when contacting us about development proposals in the district.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities sets the targets for local authorities regarding planning applications. You can view these targets on the GOV.UK website.

The Development Management Performance Report 2023-2024 (PDF) reviews the Development Management section’s performance against these targets.

You can view live tables on planning application statistics for the whole country on the GOV.UK website.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)

BNG now applies to most new major and non-major development under the Town and Country Planning Act.

Please note that this page is being updated as and when further guidance is released by the Government. Please continue to check for updates, or use the links below.

Guidance can be found at:

Biodiversity Net Gain Planning Practice Guidance - GOV.UK

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG): Validation requirements

Where applicants consider that the development would not be subject to the general biodiversity gain condition, Article 7 of The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 has been amended to require that the applicant must provide a statement as part of the planning application setting out why they believe this is the case.

The planning application form includes space for this statement. An applicant would be expected in this statement to set out what exemption(s) or transitional provision(s) apply to the development. In some cases, the exemption or transitional provision will be evident as they relate to the type of permission: the planning application form for household development already includes a pre-populated statement. In other cases, evidence may need to be provided.

Where development would be subject to the general biodiversity gain condition, the application must be accompanied by minimum information set out in Article 7 of The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015:

a statement as to whether the applicant believes that planning permission, if granted, would be subject to the biodiversity gain condition;
the pre-development biodiversity value of the onsite habitat on the date of application (or an earlier date) including the completed metric calculation tool used showing the calculations, the publication date and version of the biodiversity metric used to calculate that value;
where the applicant wishes to use an earlier date, the proposed earlier date and the reasons for proposing that date;
a statement confirming whether the biodiversity value of the onsite habitat is lower on the date of application (or an earlier date) because of the carrying on of activities (‘degradation’) in which case the value is to be taken as immediately before the carrying on of the activities, and if degradation has taken place supporting evidence of this;
a description of any irreplaceable habitat (as set out in column 1 of the Schedule to the Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Irreplaceable Habitat) Regulations [2024]) on the land to which the application relates, that exists on the date of application, (or an earlier date); and
a plan, drawn to an identified scale which must show the direction of North, showing onsite habitat existing on the date of application (or and earlier date), including any irreplaceable habitat.

If this information has not been provided, the Local Planning Authority (LPA) will be unable to validate the application.

Within the planning application form applicants will be asked to confirm whether this information accompanies the application. Where these details have been provided elsewhere in accompanying documents, applicants are encouraged to refer to these rather than duplicate this information within the application form.

Post planning permission - Biodiversity Gains Plans

The statutory framework for biodiversity net gain requires that development (for which BNG is applicable) may not be begun unless a Biodiversity Gain Plan has been submitted to and approved by the planning authority. This condition applies to all grants of planning permission as required by Article 13 of Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act. In accordance with Planning Practice Guidance, this condition will not be included on a decision notice. If you are in any doubt about whether the Biodiversity Gain Plan condition applies to your development, please see the Informatives on your decision notice or contact the Planning Department.

The Biodiversity Gain Plan should set out how the biodiversity gain objective of at least a 10% gain will be met for the development granted planning permission. Guidance on the procedure for submission of the Biodiversity Gain Plan, and details of the minimum level of information that should be included, can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/biodiversity-net-gain#submission-of-the-biodiversity-gain-plan.

A developer may want to submit a draft plan for information ahead of the determination of the planning application, although this is not a national information requirement.

A developer must submit the plan in writing, no earlier than the day after planning permission has been granted. The use of the Biodiversity Gain Plan template is strongly encouraged to bring together the required information into one document for approval. Details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/submit-a-biodiversity-gain-plan

The application should be submitted on the ‘Discharge of Condition’ application form, and be accompanied by the statutory fee of £145 (as at February 2025). As with the discharge of other conditions, local planning authorities will have 8 weeks to approve the Biodiversity Gain Plan (unless another timescale is agreed).

Developers must not start work on a development and the LPA cannot publish a development on their planning register until the LPA has approved the biodiversity gain plan.

District Level Licensing (DLL) Newts

Photo credit: Rachael Hamilton, Natural England

Licensing for Great Crested Newt

Great crested newts are a European protected species. The animals and their eggs, breeding sites and resting places are protected by law.

If you intend to develop land where your work will disturb great crested newt (GCN) or damage their habitat (ponds and land around ponds), you must ensure you have met the legal requirements.

There are several ways to apply for a licence from Natural England to meet these requirements:

GCN Mitigation Licence - apply for a traditional GCN mitigation licence
A Low Impact Class Licence - this scheme only applies where impacts to GCN and their habitat are considered to be small scale. This is implemented through a consultant ecologist who is registered for the scheme
District Level Licensing - we now have a District Level Licensing (DLL) scheme which is a quicker and simpler option to applying for a GCN mitigation license

District Level Licensing (DLL)

DLL is a new strategic approach to licensing for great crested newts. Traditional mitigation licensing requires on site mitigation measures to be carried out. These can delay development as some measures can only be carried out at certain times of the year. DLL does not require on site mitigation; instead developers make a payment based on the impact of their development. This conservation payment is used to create compensatory habitat off-site, which is targeted to areas where it will most benefit GCN- making bigger, better and more joined up habitats.

Benefits for people

Simple to use
Offers developers certainty in terms of costs and timescales
Developments that have been through planning will not be held up by protracted post-planning licensing
Greater flexibility in the layout and design of development land as mitigation for impacts on GCN and their habitats is not required on site
Helps delivery of a green future
Provides landowner opportunities to create/restore ponds

Benefits for great crested newts

Bolsters existing newt populations while improving range and connectivity
Populations are more resilient to external pressures
Ponds are maintained and monitored in the long term, helping us better understand population conservation science
As part of DLL, the largest ever survey of its type for GCN across England has been completed and the results are open to all

Applying for DLL

DLL can be used for any type of development, including:

Major and minor housing schemes
Infrastructure projects such as road, rail and pipelines
Industrial/retail developments
Social developments such as education, health and leisure
Private developments

How to apply

1. The applicant enquires to Natural England to confirm their eligibility to use DLL and how much it will cost (more information about the costs can be found below). The applicant must provide a GIS shapefile and an accurate plan of the red line boundary, as well as any survey work that has been completed.

2. The applicant can choose whether to survey or not; if they decide to survey, the conservation payment required is informed by the survey information. If they decide not to survey, Natural England will calculate the payment using their impact assessment tool which is based on DLL risk zones (a mapping output showing how likely it is that GCN are present on the site based on species distribution modelling) and OS MasterMap ®pond information. If there is survey information for the site that is no more than four years old, the applicant must use the survey route.

3. Natural England supplies a quote to the applicant in the form of an Impact Assessment and Conservation Payment Certificate (IACPC). If acceptable, the applicant signs it and returns it to Natural England who countersign it; the certificate then forms a contract between Natural England and the applicant that confirms DLL can be used to account for the impacts on GCN as a result of the applicant’s development.

4. If 3 or more compensation ponds are required, the applicant must make a first-stage conservation payment. In such instances, the countersigned IACPC is provided after this payment has been received by Natural England.

5. The signed certificate is provided to the local authority with the applicant’s planning application, to demonstrate due regard for GCN.

6. Once planning permission is granted, the applicant can then apply for a licence with Natural England; they must complete an application form and provide a reasoned statement.

Natural England will invoice the applicant for the conservation payment (minus the first-stage conservation payment if required) and on receipt of this, the reasoned statement will be assessed within 30 working days.

7. If the reasoned statement is deemed satisfactory, the licence will be issued. Any works that would impact GCN can then proceed.

The cost to join the DLL scheme

The number of ponds needed to compensate for the impact of a development site is calculated based on the number of ponds impacted and whether these ponds are confirmed or likely to be occupied by GCN. Ponds both on site and within 250m of the site are taken into account.

Each compensation pond required costs £17,215 + VAT; this figure covers the initial creation or restoration and includes everything required to maintain and monitor the pond for 25 years. In addition, Natural England currently charges an upfront enquiry fee of £570 + VAT for the issue of the Impact Assessment and Conservation Payment Certificate, which must be paid within 28 days of the invoice date, and a licence fee of £690 (exempt from VAT) is required prior to the provision of the licence. All costs are correct as of January 2023 but are kept under regular review by Natural England. For up to date costs, refer to the gov.uk guidance to developers on how to join DLL schemes.

Photo Credit: Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership

Further information

If you’d like to apply to the DLL scheme, please visit the gov.uk page on DLL.

If you are interested in applying for an organisational licence to run a DLL scheme, please see Natural England’s Framework document which sets out the overarching principles of DLL, how Natural England approaches the assessment of such a scheme under the legal licensing tests and relevant policy, and the documents and mechanisms that are likely to be needed to enable a licence to be granted.

If you’d like to find out more detail about the DLL scheme, please refer to the Natural England blogs below, the series of webinars presented by Natural England with CIEEM, or contact GCNDLL@naturalengland.org.uk.

DLL CIEEM webinar series available on YouTube:

DLL videos available on YouTube: