Issue - meetings

To receive and agree the Fee Charging Structure as set out in the Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain in Planning Report.

Members discussed the Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain in Planning Fee Schedule with concerns being raised around the fees being set without considering the size of the application. Councillor Cooper expressed belief that the fees should reflect the size of the application and focus on a fee per hectare. This would mean that the fee would fall for smaller applications and rise for larger applications.

It was clarified that the fee schedule was set from guidance from the Ecological Society Advisers. It was noted that the scheme was in its infancy and expected to be refined following the first year’s findings. Council Giles-Medhurst clarified that the recommendations were loose for officers to make changes to the fees following the meeting.

Members queried the financial situation of a development that did not pay or moved out of the district. It was noted that the council would have enforcement powers if a development within the district does not pay the fees however enforcement action would not be possible for a development that had moved away from the district as the council would have no jurisdiction to monitor or to act outside of the district. The fees would then be paid to the council that the development fell under.

It was noted that the progress of the item would be reported annually under the Fees and Charges Regime.

The recommendations in the report were agreed by general assent with the amendment that Table 2.3.5 be reviewed with an increased differential incremental higher scale for larger sites and a decreased differential lower scale for smaller sites.