As part of last month's statement on the Local Government
Finance Settlement 2016 to 2017 (LGFS), Greg Clark, the Secretary
of State for Communities and Local Government, outlined plans to
consult on allowing well performing planning departments to
increase their fees in line with inflation. The rationale being
that the additional revenue received would reduce the cross subsidy
that the planning function currently receives from Council Tax
payments.
Further details of the proposal have now been announced as part
of the technical consultation on the implementation of planning
changes which closes on 15 April. The consultation document
confirms that any fee increase will be limited to the top 75%
performing Local Planning Authorities (LPA's) both in terms of
the speed and quality of decisions. The document also suggests that
a fast-track service (or services) could be made available with
shorter statutory determination periods in return for an increased
planning
