Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications and Deemed Applications) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2010

My Lords, the regulations laid before the House on 5 January and approved by the House of Commons on 10 February set out a fee structure for new categories of planning application developed to introduce a greater degree of flexibility into the planning system and assist householders and developers as the country moves towards economic recovery. A new application type gives local authorities the power to extend the life of existing planning permissions that are due to expire for a further limited period without the need for a full, new planning application. In addition, the Government have also introduced a formal system to allow applicants to agree non-material amendments to existing planning permissions with the relevant local planning authority, similarly avoiding the need to submit a full new planning application. These new legislative provisions were laid before Parliament on 8 September 2009 and came into force on 1 October 2009. If approved by noble Lords today, the associated change to the fee regulations will be brought into effect tomorrow. The regulations also establish a lower fee cap specifically for planning applications falling within category 9(b) of Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the regulations, reducing the cap from £250,000 to £1,690. The principle underlying the planning fee regime is that would-be developers, rather than the council tax payer, should meet the bulk of the costs incurred by local planning authorities in considering any application submitted. The Government have worked closely with local authorities, developers and other interested parties in establishing a fee level that reflects this driving principle of cost recovery in the planning fees system. In the case of an application submitted to extend the life of an existing planning permission, the Government propose that, if the applicant is a householder, the relevant fee will be £50; if the application is for major development, it will be £500; and in any other case, it will be £170. In the case of an application for non-material changes to a planning permission, if the applicant is a householder, the relevant fee will be £25; in any other case, it will be £170. The fee levels proposed reflect the outcome of the government consultation on this issue undertaken between 18 June and 13 August 2009, where a flat fee of £170 was proposed for extensions to planning permissions and for non-material amendments, with the exception of non-material amendments to householder applications, for which a flat fee of £25 was proposed. In response to the consultation, a number of local authorities noted concern that the £170 fee for extending planning permissions would not cover the costs of processing larger applications. In response, the Government undertook a further consultation exercise involving earlier consultation respondents and an expert panel on planning fees. They proposed a higher fee of £500 for all major applications, and a lower fee of £50 for a householder application. These fee levels attracted support from a significant majority of respondents and are the levels that we now propose to take forward. The reason for these applications having a lower fee than would be paid for a new permission is that there is less work for the local planning authority due to the extent to which material considerations have changed the original permission. The fees proposed will enable the local planning authority to undertake the necessary work on a cost-recovery basis. Finally, the regulations also establish a lower fee cap specifically for planning applications falling within category 9(b) of Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the regulations, reducing the cap, as I said earlier, from £250,000 to £1,690. This cap was raised in error to the £250,000 maximum in the last revision of the regulations in 2008, when it should have been increased in line with the overall fee increase. The lower cap on this category was to ensure that schemes such as habitat creation were not subjected to an unrealistic fee as a result of the area of land that they cover. The amendment reinstates that lower cap and corrects the error made in the 2008 regulations. I commend the regulations to the House. I beg to move.