This in from the Isle of Wight council, Ed
As part of the Isle of Wight Council’s continued need to reduce its spending levels in response to the national austerity agenda promoted by Government, from September 2015 it will introduce fees for pre-application planning advice. This proposal was accepted by the Full Council in February when it agreed the medium term financial strategy for the 2015 to 2017.
Around 1,300 planning applicants received pre-application advice last year. The introduction of pre-application charges could raise up to £110,000 for the council each year.
The fees, from 1 September will be:
|
Type of Application |
Proposed Fees (incl VAT) |
|
Householder |
£40 |
|
Other (Change of use, etc) |
£60 |
|
Minor (1-9 dwellings) |
£100 |
|
Major (10-99 dwellings) |
£400 |
|
Large Major (100+ dwellings) |
£1,000 |
|
Planning performance agreements |
10% of the total planning application fee |
Councillor Paul Fuller, Executive Member for Planning and Licensing, said:
“These charges are in line with the approach already taken elsewhere around the country, and the charges we are proposing are, in most cases, considerably less than those of other authorities. It will provide better clarity on discussions taking place in advance of planning applications, which is something that was requested during consultation.
“Alongside our continued cost-saving measures being implemented throughout the council, a further way to bridge the funding gap is to introduce or increase charges on some of our services where we have the power to do so. These powers are limited however but it is important that we do everything we can to maximise our income so that we can continue to provide the services that we have prioritised as the most important. The majority of charges will be for developments, not individuals, although the smallest fee of £40 will be applied for householders.”
Huge budget gap
The Isle of Wight Council needs to find savings in expenditure or additional income of £14.5m in 2015/16 and a further £8.5m in 2016/17 for it to be able to provide services within the resources available.
Approximately half of these sums are due to reductions in government grants. In order to meet this challenge the council is increasingly having to prioritise its spending to those services which it must provide by law such as adult and children’s services.
Pre-application discussions are very beneficial to all parties. Applicants can gain a clearer understanding of the planning process, therefore, improving the quality of their application and ultimately making the process quicker. It also gives them guidance and some certainty on whether their proposal is likely to be approved.
Fees will be introduced on 1 September and will be due on request for pre-application advice. Payments can be made online via www.iwight.co.uk or by calling the call centre on 01983 821000.
