Falkirk Council: Pre-planning application charges set to be introduced

Members of Falkirk Council’s executive agreed to bring in pre-planning application charges at a meeting on Tuesday. Michael McGuinness, council head of growth, planning and climate change, assured members that the charges did not refer to general advice that was given to members of the public who are considering submitting an application.

Fees will be applied to consultations on specific applications, where planning officers are asked to give professional advice in a formal response. This can be for any type of application, including major developments which take up a huge amount of planning officers’ time.

There will be a sliding scale of prices: from £50 for a householder enquiry; £150 for a local development enquiry and £500 for a major development enquiry.

Councillors also agreed to bring in other charges including a 25 per cent surcharge for retrospective planning applications. Officers will have discretionary powers to reduce or waive fees when the purpose of the application is not for profit or the development will improve the health of the area.

Recent Scottish Government advice is that planning fees should cover the cost of applications, ahead of changes being made to the planning system nationally.

Members heard that charges are already common in other council areas, including Edinburgh and Fife. Mr McGuinness’ report also admitted that charging for pre-application advice will help meet the £69 million budget gap that is facing Falkirk over the next four years. The change is likely to bring in around £200,000 income to the council.