The Government has recently confirmed that the issue of planning fee freedom is still under review.
They are still considering whether to allow local planning authorities to set planning application fee charges unilaterally.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has stated “New evidence from ongoing work with local authorities indicate that decentralisation of fees is a complex proposal which would need further working through”.
Some 62 per cent of respondents supported the notion of local authorities being able to set their own fees, while 30 per cent did not agree. A report on this issue has recently been published by the Department.
In their 11 page document which you can download below, it states that “evidence from previous increases in fee levels has shown no discernible impact upon development viability”.
The department is currently considering the risk that fee increases might encourage people to circumvent planning permission.
A copy of the Government report can be downloaded here:
This document is a summary of the responses made to the consultation on proposed changes to the planning application fees regime which ran from 15 November 2010 to 7 January 2011.
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