12 December 2011
The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP
Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government
Eland House
Bressenden Place
LONDON
SW1E 5DU
Your Ref:
Our Ref: KEJ/SJO/ly
Dear Mr Pickles
LOCAL SETTING OF PLANNING FEES
Almost one year ago this Council expressed its strong support for the Government’s
proposals for planning fees to be set locally.
Given the time which has elapsed since the proposal was originally made, the
enactment of the Localism Bill would seem an appropriate time for the Government
now to confirm the decision to allow local planning authorities to set their own fees,
based on the level of service necessary to meet the needs of their areas.
In our view, the ability of planning authorities to facilitate the economic recovery is
critically dependent upon adequate resources being provided through the feecharging regime, without subsidy from the general Council Tax payer.
I should therefore be grateful if you would give this matter your urgent attention, in
order to allow us to plan the deployment of our resources properly and deliver the
economic recovery we are all desperate to see.
Yours sincerely
Cllr Keith Johnson
Planning and Housing Portfolio Holder
Cc:
Norman Lamb MP
Keith Simpson MP
Cllr Trevor Ivory, Portfolio Holder (Localism)
Cllr Eric Seward, Chairman, Overview and Scrutiny Committee
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