Fees for Planning Advice 

Under Section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003 Authorities are able to charge for services which the authority is authorised, but not required, to provide. Such charges are limited to cost recovery.

One of the main reasons Councillors decided to introduce the charges in 2007 was to help the Council recover the cost of advice that would otherwise be borne by the service and therefore the Council taxpayer at large rather than the potential applicant who will benefit.

As of 1st April 2013, fees for Pre-Application and Post-Application Advice charges are as follows:

	Charge per hour
Head of Service	£220 + VAT
Area Team Manager	£170 + VAT
All other planning officers/equivalent service posts	£150 + VAT
Assistant Planning Officer or equivalent service posts	£100 + VAT
Site Visit relating to informal advice (flat rate)	£100 + VAT