Issue - meetings

The Cabinet were presented a report from the Director of Place which advised Members of the proposal to increase the fees associated with our current pre-application service in addition to introducing a range of new charges relating to discretionary services currently provided by the Planning department. As pressure on the Council’s budget continued to increase, the introduction of these charges will assist this key service area to maintain the level of service provided to our customers whilst managing the cost to the Council of providing these services. It will also bring Mid Devon more in to line with similar district councils within the wider Devon and South West geography.

It was highlighted that:

·        The current pre-application fees had not been reviewed since 2020 and benchmarking exercises revealed that Mid Devon was charging far less than other Local Planning Authorities’ in the region.

·        This would support staff levels and resource. In addition, the current planning duty service be stopped which would allow officers to spend more quality time on chargeable pre-application enquires.

Consideration was given to:

·        There was a need for revenues to be improved

·        It was asked if these fees were capped.

Officers provided a response by stating that the fees were not capped, however, because there was a competitive dynamic there was a need to not make services too expensive. This report would bring the Council in line with neighbouring authorities, which meant this council remained competitive, reasonable and to sustain a viable service. 

RESOLVED: That

• That the proposed fees and charges set out in Appendix 1 of this report be introduced from 15 November 2022

• That the duty planning service be removed from 15 November 2022.

• That future increases to discretionary fee charges to be delegated to the Director of Place in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic regeneration.

(Proposed by Cllr R Chesterton, seconded by Cllr B A Moore)

Reason for decision – as stated in the report.