Item 9 Appendix 4
West Dunbartonshire Council · 14 December 2022
Back to Planning Committee — 14 December 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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AssessmentNo 593 Owner alan.williamson Resource Transformation Service/Establishment Regulatory First Name Surname Job title Head Officer Pamela Clifford Planning, Building Standards and Environmenteal Health Manager (include job titles/organisation) Members Alan Williamson, Development Planning &Place Team Leader James McColl, Development Management Team leader Joshua Doyle, Placemaking Co-ordinator (Please note: the word 'policy' is used as shorthand for stategy policy function or financial decision) Policy Title Discretionary charges for planning services The aim, objective,purpose and intended out come of policy The policy introduces charges for a range of services offered by the Planning Service, for example for pre-application advice, for non- material variations to planning permissions, confirmation of compliance/discharge of conditions attached to planning permissions, and a surcharge for retrospective applications. The introduction of these fees is related to the publication of new Regulations by the Scottish Government that provide the statutory basis for introducing these fees for the first time. Service/Partners/Stakeholders/service users involved in the development and/or implementation of policy. None Does the proposals involve the procurement of any goods or services? No If yes please confirm that you have contacted our procurement services to discuss your requirements. No SCREENING You must indicate if there is any relevance to the four areas Duty to eliminate discrimination (E), advance equal opportunities (A) or foster good relations (F) Yes Relevance to Human Rights (HR) No Relevance to Health Impacts (H) No Relevance to Social Economic Impacts (SE) Yes Who will be affected by this policy? Organisations and individuals who are seeking planning permission or who already have a planning permission in place. Who will be/has been involved in the consultation process? The proposed fees have been benchmarked with other Scottish planning authorities. Please outline any particular need/barriers which equality groups may have in relation to this policy list evidence you are using to support this and whether there is any negative impact on particular groups. Needs Evidence Impact Age Cross Cutting The council needs to The factors above The Council will ITEM 9 APPENDIX 4
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take an approach that takes account of how factors interact can interact ensure that the advice and process is accessible Disability Information and services must be accessible to disabled people Disabled people may need to undertake works or alterations to their home to improve access, safety, health or comfort. Advice needs to be accessible to BSL users, this is a legal duty and highlighted in our BSL action plan Disabled people are more likely to be income deprived than non disabled people Pre-application advice for this sort of planning application will be free. Social & Economic Impact People/organisation s who are less well- off may be put-off seeking pre- application advice if there is a charge for it. See above in terms particular groups who are more income deprived groups who groups Seeking pre- application advice is optional, therefore the cost does not need to be incurred. The cost of pre- application advice for householder development (which is the sort of development most likely to be undertaken by individuals) is set at £100. This is likely to amount to only a fraction of an overall development cost. An option exists for brief non- specific/general pre- application advice to be given for free over the telephone e.g. someone checking whether a particular project requires planning permission. Pre- application advice will be free for community councils, and for proposals
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which support the Council's food growing strategy - allotments or food banks/hubs. Sex Processes need to be fair and accessible Women are more likely to be income deprived than men Any differential impact is likely to be low. The cost of pre- application advice for householder development (which is the sort of development most likely to be undertaken by individuals) is set at £100. Gender Reassign Health Human Rights Marriage & Civil Partnership Pregnancy & Maternity Race Information needs to accessible People from BME groups are more likely to be income deprived. Some interpreting and translation may be required from some service users Any differential impact is likely to be low. The cost of pre- application advice for householder development (which is the sort of development most likely to be undertaken by individuals) is set at £100. Religion and Belief Sexual Orientation Actions Policy has a negative impact on an equality group,but is still to be implemented, please provide justification for this. Will the impact of the policy be monitored and reported on an ongoing bases? The level of fees will be monitored and revised within one year of implementation, taking account of any particular cases/circumstances that arise after implementation. The Council will ensure that advice and process are access by following the Council's 'Communicating Effectively' Guidance. Staff can access the Council's Providing Accessible Services training Q7 What is you recommendation for this policy? Intoduce Please provide a meaningful summary of how you have reached the
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recommendation EIA 593 details some small differential impacts of charging impacts, that can be mitigated. The Council will follows its Communicating Effectively to ensure accessibility of advice and guidance. The fees have been introduced in line with The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications)(Scotland) Regulations 2022, which enables and sets out discretionary fees that the Council can introduce for planning-related services. The fees have been set in line with the Regulations where these are set out, or following benchmarking where the Council has latitude to set its own fees. Exemptions have been introduced where allowed to account for potentially disadvantaged groups, and have been set at an affordable* rate for development types likely to be undertaken by individuals (*when compared with the overall costs of a development project). Many of the fees are also optional.