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Planning Applications

Pre Application Charging

Pre Application Charging Under the Local Government Act 2003 local authorities can now charge for discretionary services such as pre-application advice. LB Newham has agreed to commence charging for pre-application and project advice on the medium, larger and more complex cases. The charging system for pre-application advice will commence operation from the 1 January 2008. The Borough will continue to offer free advice for other domestic and small scale matters.

Why pre-application discussion?

The Planning Services welcome and encourage discussions before a developer submits an application. Early discussions between developers and planning officers will provide the opportunity to steer projects in the right direction. They can be of great benefit to the applicant by identifying the key planning issues, avoiding abortive work and speeding up the statutory process.

A more formalised approach to pre-application advice will raise the quality of developments by:

• identifying the issues pre-formal application submission
• lead to certainty, clarity and quicker decisions
• save on time and money by reducing wasted resources on unsuccessful applications and changes to formal application after submission; thus meeting PI targets
• allow the heads of terms for planning obligations (s106) to be identified at an early stage including an early commitment to drafting the legal agreement in parallel to the application
• lead to more applications being received as valid and include all appropriate documentation
• reduce the number of applications that are rejected or withdrawn and discourage fundamentally unacceptable schemes
• secure satisfaction within the process

Full details can be found on the Charging for Pre Application Advice Guidance Notes.

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