Chartered Town Planners · MRTPI

Retrospective Planning Permission, Handled by Chartered Experts

RPE prepares and submits retrospective planning applications that councils take seriously — written by Chartered Town Planners with over 17 years of public and private sector experience. We regularise unauthorised development, respond to enforcement notices, and put your application in safe hands. All-inclusive fixed fee from £450 + VAT · 7 working days.

Start Your Free Assessment ↓ See Our Results

✓ Free initial assessment ✓ All-inclusive fixed fee ✓ 7 working day turnaround ✓ UK-wide service

Start with a free assessment

No obligation. We'll tell you whether your case is approvable.

Or call us on 01172 565 075

Why RPE

Insider council expertise on your side

Retrospective applications are scrutinised more closely than standard ones. The right planner is the difference between approval and an enforcement order.

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Years inside the council

We've worked for years inside local planning departments. We know how case officers think, what justifications carry weight, and how decisions are made at delegated and committee level.

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Policy-based justification

Every application is built around the Local Plan, the NPPF (2024) and material planning considerations — the grounds councils are required to weigh, not the ones they aren't.

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Seven working days

From instruction, we deliver the full application package — drawings, statement, supporting documents — in seven working days. Critical when an enforcement deadline is bearing down on you.

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All-inclusive fixed fee

One transparent price covers drawings, planning statement, application submission and ongoing agent support. No hourly billing. No mid-project surprises. £450 + VAT for householder cases, £695 + VAT for everything else.

The Process

From problem to permission, in four steps

Free assessment

Send photos and a short description. A Chartered Town Planner reviews the case and gives you an honest view of approvability — no charge, no obligation.

Confirm & pay

We confirm a fixed, all-inclusive fee in writing and send a secure payment link. Work begins immediately on receipt.

Application prepared

Within seven working days we produce your drawings, planning statement and any supporting documents — researched and written by Chartered professionals.

Submit & manage

We submit to your council and act as your planning agent throughout determination, responding to officer queries until a decision is issued.

Full process details →

Recent Work

Cases we've worked on

Real applications, real strategy, anonymised to protect our clients. We work with homeowners, landlords and small developers across the UK.

Location map for pet grooming pod retrospective planning case

Resubmitted

What's Included

Everything your application needs

One fixed fee covers the complete package — not a stripped-down starter that leaves you commissioning drawings and statements separately.

Free initial assessment by a Chartered Town Planner
Site analysis and review of comparable approvals
Policy review — Local Plan and NPPF (2024)
Full set of planning drawings (existing and proposed)
Comprehensive planning statement with policy-based justification
Application form completion and submission
Ongoing planning agent support to decision
Officer query responses and amendments where needed

Fixed fee, agreed up front

Your fee is set in writing before we begin. That is what you pay.

£450 + VAT — householder applications
£695 + VAT — all other applications
No hourly billing, no mid-project hikes
Free revisions until you are satisfied

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FAQs

Common questions

Retrospective planning is one of the most stressful corners of the planning system. Here are the questions we hear most.

A robust application prepared by a Chartered Town Planner dramatically increases your chances of approval — and of closing an enforcement matter quickly and quietly.

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Do I actually need retrospective planning permission?

If you have built or changed something that needed permission and didn't get it, then yes — you need to either apply retrospectively, demonstrate the work is lawful (a Certificate of Lawfulness), or remove the development. Doing nothing is the worst option: under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, the immunity period is now 10 years for both operational development and changes of use (from 25 April 2024), and the clock can be reset by an enforcement notice.

I've received an enforcement notice. What now?

You typically have a short window to respond — often 28 days — and your options are to comply, appeal, or submit a retrospective application. We act quickly to assess which is the right route for your case and prepare the necessary documents within 7 working days.

Will the council refuse just because it's already built?

No. By law, retrospective applications must be assessed on the same planning merits as a normal application — the fact that the development already exists is not a valid reason for refusal. What matters is whether the development complies with planning policy. Our job is to make that case, in writing, on the grounds that count.

How much do you charge?

We work on a fixed, all-inclusive fee. £450 + VAT for householder applications, £695 + VAT for all other applications. Council application fees are paid separately at cost. We confirm the exact figure in writing after the free initial assessment, before you commit to anything.