Issue - meetings

Planning and Economic Development Portfolio

To consider report PES/301 of the Head of Economy and Planning.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development presented report PES/301 of the Head of Economy and Planning which set out the proposal for the introduction of pre-application advice fees on a sliding scale for minor, major and commercial developments applications.  It was emphasised that the fees would not affect individual personal applications. It was noted that the majority of Local Authorities charged for a pre-application advice service.

The Council cannot make a profit from the introduction of the proposed charging, rather it may only cover costs of the advice being provided. As a result the proposed level of fees were devised based on the recording of officer time covering a period for end to end pre application advice and calculating the officer cost, as well as a comparison with other surrounding Local Authorities. It was expected income would be approximately £20-35k per year. It was suggested that the proposals be reviewed in a years’ time, including re-evaluating fee levels.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet:

a)      approves the introduction of a charging scheme for pre-application planning advice in accordance with the proposed Charging Schedule and exemptions as set out at Appendix A to report PES/301, to take effect from the 1st October 2018.

b)      delegates authority to the Head of Economy and Planning in consultation with the Head of Corporate Finance and the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development to review or update the Charging Schedule. (Generic Delegation 4 will be used to enact this recommendation).

c)      delegates authority to the Group Manager (Development Management) in consultation with the Head of Economy and Planning to decide on the scale of the fees for any mixed-use developments on a case by case basis and clarify exemptions. (Generic Delegation 4 will be used to enact this recommendation).

Reasons for the Recommendations

Pre-application advice is currently provided by planning officers free of charge for all types of planning development enquiries. Under Section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003, the Council has the power to set charging fees as a means of cost recovery for this discretionary service.

It is considered that the introduction of charging presents an opportunity to improve the quality and consistency of advice provided, which in turn should ensure submission of better quality applications. An enhanced pre-application service would support Crawley’s Local Plan; in particular the following objectives:

·                “To protect and enhance the valued built environment and character within the borough through high quality new design and the protection of culturally valuable areas and buildings” (Local Plan objective 4).

·                “To provide a good choice of well-designed housing in terms of tenure, type, size and location” (Local Plan objective 6).

·                “To ensure new development will be of high quality and sustainable design and construction in line with national standards; with new buildings being built to a high energy efficiency standard to ensure warmth continues to be affordable to all residents and meet the challenges to work towards becoming Carbon Neutral” (Local Plan objective 17).