Issue - meetings

This report recommends fees and charges for which this committee is responsible, with the new charges being effective from 1 April 2026.

Following consideration, the Committee resolved with 7 votes for and 2 abstentions to:

(1)       Agree the fees and charges for 2026/27 as set out at Appendices 1 and 2.

The Committee received a report recommending the fees and charges for which they are responsible, with the new charges being effective from 1 April 2026.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Report Correction. The Senior Accountant explained that there was an error on page 3 of the development fees and charges. The error is under Major Development pre-application advice fees for Major (100+ dwellings, 5000sqm+)- With Follow Up Meeting/Letter (within 3 months). All three lines state the same unit narrative, the first line should say ‘Letter only’, the second line should say ‘Add meeting’ and the third line should say ‘With Follow Up Meeting/Letter (within 3 months)’. The Senior Accountant noted that the fees and charges document will be updated before it comes into effect.

b)            Retrospective Planning Applications. A Member of the Committee asked if there is a possibility to include an additional charge on retrospective planning applications.  The Senior Accountant agreed to follow up this query with the Head of Place Development. 

c)            Fee increase. A Member of the Committee asked for clarification as to why discretionary place development charges are being increased by 4.8%, noting that this is considerably above the current inflation rate. The Chief Accountant explained that the 4.8% increase was set by the Medium-Term Financial Strategy, which stated that the fees and charges should increase by CPI plus 1%. The CPI used for 2026/27 is from September 2025, which is readily available online, and was 3.8%. The Chief Accountant informed the Committee that the increases to staff salaries, the government changes to National Insurance payments, and inflation across various areas, has placed additional costs on the Council, meaning the 4.8% increase in fees and charges is quite reasonable and reflective of the current financial situation.

d)            Tree Officer rate. A Member of the Committee asked if the hourly rate of £133 for a Tree Officer means an 8-hour day rate of £1064 is what is charged for a day of the Tree Officer’s time. The Chief Accountant explained that staff are contracted to 7.2 hours per day over a 36-hour work week. The Chief Accountant confirmed that if 8 hours of the Tree Officer’s time was needed, it would cost £1064. The Vice Chair informed the Committee that the Tree Officer is charged out hourly, not on a full-day basis. The Chief Accountant explained that the rate also takes into account the fact that there might be travel time and costs associated for the Officer carrying out the required work. The Member raised that the borough is no more than 2 miles across from any point. The Member asked if currently the Tree Officer’s daily rate is just shy of £900. The Chief Accountant confirmed that if the Tree Officer was contracted to spend 7 hours at one particular site, then the charge indicated by the Member is correct.

e)            Tree-planting. A Member of the Committee raised that the Council charges £550 for tree planting. The Member said that is £50 for the tree  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24