Planning fees rise by 20%

Peterborough City Council news from the Peterborough Telegraph - peterboroughtoday.co.uk, @peterboroughtel on Twitter, Facebook.com/peterboroughtoday

The Government is allowing local authorities to increase the fees - which can cost thousands of pounds - by 20 per cent, which the council has decided to do.

The Government, which sets planning fees, has not raised them for the last five years.

According to a council report, the extra revenue will bring in £280,000 a year once the price rise kicks in from July.

The council does not believe the increased costs will impact on the number of planning applications which are submitted.

Its report states: “Whilst no firm decisions have been made, it is likely that the additional revenue would be spent on improving the resilience of the technical administration, development management and planning policy teams.

“Spending in these areas will drive the delivery of the council’s ambitious growth agenda and help facilitate new council tax, business rates and new homes bonus income for the council.”

The current planning fees can be at: https://www.peterborough.gov.uk.