Most homeowners in Hart start their research by looking up the application fee. They find £548 for a householder application and assume that's the number to budget around. It isn't. The fee is just the entry ticket — what comes after depends entirely on your property, your street, and a set of local constraints that most people don't discover until they're already mid-project. WhatCanIBuild can show you what's actually been approved for properties like yours in Hart, so you're not budgeting blind.
The short version
- The householder application fee in Hart is £548 — but that's rarely your only cost
- Hart has 39 conservation areas, 47 Article 4 directions, and 1,901 listed buildings — any of which can fundamentally change what your project requires
- Applications submitted through Planning Portal carry an additional service charge of £75.83 + VAT on applications with fees over £100
The fee is just the beginning
The £548 covers the council's processing of your application. It doesn't cover drawn plans, a planning consultant, a heritage statement, pre-application advice, or the cost of resubmitting if your first attempt is refused. None of those are optional if your project sits in the wrong part of Hart — and in a district with 39 conservation areas, there's a decent chance it does.
If your application attracts a fee over £100 and you submit through the Planning Portal, you'll also pay a service charge of £75.83 + VAT on top. Most homeowners don't budget for that line item until they hit it.
Hart's heritage coverage is unusually extensive
Thirty-nine conservation areas. Forty-seven Article 4 directions affecting specific streets. Nearly two thousand listed buildings. These aren't abstract statistics — they're the reason two neighbours on the same road can face completely different planning processes for what looks like the same project.
If your property sits inside a conservation area, certain works that would normally fall under permitted development may no longer apply. If there's an Article 4 direction on your street, rights you thought you had may have been removed entirely. If your home is listed — or even close to one — the application type, the supporting documents required, and the fee structure all change.
Don't assume your project is straightforward
Hart's heritage coverage is among the most extensive in the south east. Even a modest extension or external alteration can trigger additional requirements depending on where your property sits. What applied to your neighbour may not apply to you.
The best way to understand what constraints actually apply to your specific address — not your town, not your postcode, your property — is to use WhatCanIBuild, which maps your address against Hart's planning history and constraint layers to show what's genuinely been approved nearby and why.
The hidden cost is a refused application
Planning fees are non-refundable if your application is refused. A refusal doesn't just cost you the £548 — it costs you time, consultant fees, and the resubmission process. In a district where approval odds vary significantly by project type, street, and property, going in without knowing your chances is the most expensive mistake you can make.
Most homeowners don't realise that Hart's approval patterns aren't uniform. A rear extension that sailed through on one road may have been refused three times on the next street over. The reasons are rarely obvious from the outside.
WhatCanIBuild surfaces exactly that kind of local decision history — what's been approved and refused near you, and what that means for your project's chances before you spend a penny on an application.
Want a detailed planning report?
Get a personalised report covering constraints, precedents, and approval odds for your project.
See a sample report