How much does planning permission really cost in Reigate and Banstead?

Most homeowners in Reigate and Banstead assume planning permission costs whatever the council fee is — and move on. The reality is considerably more complicated, and the gap between what you expect to spend and what you actually spend can be significant. WhatCanIBuild exists precisely because that gap catches so many homeowners off guard.

The £548 is just the beginning

Yes, a householder planning application in Reigate and Banstead costs £548. That number is real — but it's also just the entry ticket. On top of that, the Planning Portal charges a service fee of £75.83 + VAT for applications submitted online that attract a fee over £100. So before you've spoken to a single architect or consultant, you're already past the headline figure.

Then comes everything else. Architect drawings. A planning consultant if things get complicated. A heritage statement if your property sits near a listed building or within one of the borough's 19 conservation areas. An ecological survey if your site raises certain flags. Pre-application advice from the council. None of these are optional extras if your project demands them — they're costs that appear whether you planned for them or not.

Most homeowners don't realise how quickly those additional costs stack up until they're already committed.

Where Reigate and Banstead gets complicated

This borough isn't a straightforward planning environment. The Surrey Hills AONB borders — and in places overlaps — significant parts of the area. Properties on or near Article 1(5) land face restricted permitted development rights, meaning work you'd assume doesn't need permission almost certainly does. Whether your property falls into that category isn't always obvious from a postcode alone.

Then there are the conservation areas. Nineteen of them, covering everything from Reigate town centre to village settings across the borough. External alterations that would be routine elsewhere require a different level of scrutiny here — and in some cases, full planning permission for things you might have assumed were permitted.

The 457 listed buildings in the borough add another layer. Even if your property isn't listed, proximity matters. Planning officers take the setting of listed buildings seriously, and that can reshape what gets approved, what gets refused, and what additional reports you'll need to commission.

The costs you can't see without checking

Here's what trips most people up: it's not any single constraint that drives cost — it's the combination. A property that sits near the AONB boundary, backs onto a conservation area, and is within the setting of a listed building faces a very different planning environment than a house three streets away.

The best way to understand what that means for your budget is to look at what's actually been approved and refused on properties like yours. What did similar projects on your street cost to get through? What did the council push back on, and why? That pattern of local decisions is where the real cost intelligence lives — and it's not something you can read off a fee schedule.

WhatCanIBuild surfaces exactly that: approval odds for your project type in your area, what's been approved and refused nearby, and how your property's specific constraints affect your chances — not just whether you're in a conservation area, but what that actually means for your project.

If you're budgeting for a project in Reigate and Banstead, the worst thing you can do is plan around the application fee alone. The real cost depends on your property, your project, and the local decision history that most homeowners never think to check.

WhatCanIBuild gives you a clearer picture of what you're actually walking into before you spend a penny.