APPLICATION FEES
Marine Aquaculture (Planning Permission)
The fees for marine aquaculture applications are set by the Scottish Government and apply across the whole of Scotland. They are based on a combination of the surface area occupied by the growing equipment (cages and longlines) and the sea bed area occupied by all the anchors required to maintain the equipment in place. In planning terms the latter area is referred to as the ‘red line’ area. For an application to be valid the correct fee has to be submitted to the Council.
All marine aquaculture applications require to be advertised. We shall advertise the application and charge the applicant the cost. Please note that applications will not be determined until the advertisement fee has been paid.
The correct fee will be calculated for you by the Marine Planning Team once you have finalised your proposal and they can be contacted at the address on this page.
To give you some idea of what your application may cost, the current (as at 1 April 2022) fee levels are:
- The placing or assembly of equipment in any part of any marine waters for the purposes of fish farming: £200 for each 0.1 hectare of the surface area of the marine waters to be used in relation to the placement or assembly of any equipment for the purposes of fish farming and £75 for each 0.1 hectare of the sea bed to be used in relation to such development, subject to a maximum of £25,000.
- The placing or assembly of equipment in any part of any marine waters for the purposes of shellfish farming: £200 for each 0.1 hectare of the surface area of the marine waters to be used in relation to the placement or assembly of any equipment for the purposes of shellfish farming, subject to a maximum of £25,000.
- Prior Notification/Approval (Class 21A): £500.
- Prior Notification/Approval (all other Classes): £100
- Removal and/or Variation of Condition: £300
From 1st April 2024, where the application for planning permission applied for is made for retrospective approval of development that has either started or has already been carried out in full without permission, any application for planning permission validated from that date will also incur a 25% surcharge in addition to the fee as calculated in line with The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2022.
From 1st April 2024, a request made to the planning authority to vary a planning permission under section 64 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended), i.e. a Non Material Variation, will be subject of a £200 fee. This is a set amount laid down in Part 1 Regulation 4 (3) which the Council is permitted to charge for this service. There is no limit on number of requests that may be made.
Fees should be paid using our online payments section of our website or by BACS. Should you wish to pay by cheque they must be made payable to ‘Shetland Islands Council’. You should clearly note on the back of the cheque, or cover letter, that it is for the marine planning team and include the application reference number where you have one.
If you have queries please get in touch at marine.planning@shetland.gov.uk
Other Marine Developments (Works Licences)
No fee is currently payable for a works licence application which is required for all marine developments other than aquaculture.
However all works licence applications require to be advertised and the applicant has to do this at their own expense. The cost will vary depending on the detail required to clearly identify the type of development and the location. The Marine Planning Team can provide an advert template for you to use.