Issue details

In September 2023, Cabinet approved a series of high-level proposals to transform the council’s planning service, including a range of new fees. It delegated the implementation of the proposals, including to utilise the council’s wholly owned trading company to deliver and enhance elements of the planning service, to the Leader of the Council, Assistant Director of Customer, Resident & Business and Assistant Director of Finance & Commissioning (Section 151).

The aim of the proposals and new fees included in this report is to transform the council’s planning service into the best in the country, eradicating extensions of time by ensuring applications are processed in the fastest possible time frame, meeting the highest quality standards.

The promotion of a robust pre-application service and the introduction of invalid fees will help to ensure submitted applications are of the highest quality, removing unnecessary chasing, amendments and delays.

The introduction of a fast-track service will ensure that householders can develop their projects quicker and receive a decision within a guaranteed time frame.

The introduction of amendment fees will ensure that where an application must be reconsulted on, the applicant funds the additional work, ensuring that only those that benefit from these additional activities are funding the work, and the costs do not fall to the wider taxpayers in the district.

Finally, the introduction of an interactive online planning tool and enquiry service will ensure customers can get hold of the information they need 24x7 or, where they need 1-2-1 support, can be guaranteed a response within a set time frame.

This paper sets out the transformation work that has taken place since September 2023 and details the new fees that will be chargeable from 1 April 2024, subject to approval.