MD2281 Planning Unit Review of External Fees and Charges

This MD seeks authority for the Planning Unit, DEE, to implement:

• a revised charging structure for Pre-Application Advice for users of the service; and

• Fixed Price Planning Performance Agreements (PPA) for all applications that have been recovered by the Mayor

The Planning Unit has provided a non-statutory pre-application advice service since 2007, a service which has proved popular and effective. The charges for this advice were initially set low to encourage use of the service and help raise the standard of applications submitted to the GLA. Previous charges were not therefore in line with the actual cost of delivering the service. The proposed revision addresses this issue.

In addition to the revised pre-application advice service, two new targeted pre-application options are proposed to be offered that will improve and extend the service we offer to developers and users of the planning system.

Fixed fee PPAs are also proposed for applications that have been recovered by the Mayor. These applications need substantial amounts of officer resource and negotiation throughout the life of the application and allow officers time to improve the quality of the planning applications that are recovered by the Mayor for his determination. They also allow the GLA to charge for the officer time taken up by these larger scale schemes rather than pass the burden of this cost on to London taxpayers.

That the Mayor approves:
1. The implementation of an amended Pre-Application charging structure to reflect full cost recovery of the advice service under Section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003;
2. The Implementation of the new Fixed Price Planning Performance Agreements; and
3. The new charges coming into effect on 1 May 2018.