New charges for pre-application advice

A new approach to the way planning services are delivered in Shropshire has received a cautious welcome. With effect from April 1, Shropshire Council will charge anyone seeking planning advice, the friendly duty officer being axed to save costs.

Balfours’ head of planning, Karine Swanson, advises the involvement of an experienced agent will be even more valuable from the initial conception of a project and to ensure the right questions are posed during pre-application discussions.

She explains: “We are advised that limited free advice can be obtained from a planning technician, but queries concerning matters of detail will be subject to a range of charges depending on the scale and complexity of the project.”

The full scale of charges can be inspected on the Council’s website but, by way of example, most householders will get advice on their extensions for £80, discussions on an individual new house should expect to pay £200, discussions about changing the use of land will cost £500, and the charges just keep going up, to a maximum of £1750 for advice on major residential or commercial developments. These charges are in addition to the existing fees for processing the submitted application.

So what do you get for your money? From the point of enquiry, either as a result of a letter or a meeting, officers will advise on prevailing planning policy, key issues, correct documentation, Environmental Impact Statement and whether a section 106 will be required.

According to Karine,pre-application discussions can be critical to the success of a scheme and will increasingly be needed to identify the level of financial contributions the project will attract. At the very least these discussions will enable identification of the correct supporting documents from the Council’s local list. Early investigation of these matters will save money in the long run and minimise unwelcome problems and delay later in the process."

 For early advice on your planning applications, contact Balfours’ experienced team (01743 241181).