1041: More on charging for DCO-related involvement
Angus Walker Partner &
This week’s entry focuses on the ability of the Planning Inspectorate and some statutory bodies to charge fees for DCO involvement.
One of a suite of regulations published last month came into force ahead of the others, on 1 April 2024 – the Infrastructure Planning (Fees) Regulations 2024.
On 17 April 2024 this was accompanied by guidance from the government, the first of a new suite of guidance that will replace all existing guidance by the end of the year and will live at this web page. The guidance has paragraph codes and update dates like the general Planning Practice Guidance so presumably it is of that status.
An introductory set of guidance can be found here, but we are concentrating on the fees guidance that can be found here.
The guidance starts with sections on statutory body charging. Examples of what they can charge for are given, from pre-application all the way to post-decision. They include, for example, attendance at hearings during the examination, which is not at the behest or control of the applicant.
On the plus side, the fees can’t exceed what it actually costs to provide the services, and each body must publish what it proposes to charge. If fees aren’t paid, statutory bodies can withhold their services ‘notwithstanding any statutory requirement’ to provide them.
The eight statutory bodies who get this privilege for now are, with links to their charging proposals, dates of charging introduction, and hourly rates, as stated:
| Statutory body | Link to charging information | Date of introduction | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
Coal Authority | No schedule yet | n/a | n/a |
The Environment Agency | From April | £100 | |
The Health and Safety Executive | No schedule yet | n/a | n/a |
Historic England | From April | Not given | |
The Marine Management Organisation | 1 May 2024 | £94-£122 | |
National Highways | 1 April 2024 | Prices on application | |
Natural Resources Wales | No schedule yet | No schedule yet | n/a |
Natural England | During April | £110 |
The guidance then goes on to cost recovery by the Planning Inspectorate for pre-application services. You have to get all the way to the end – literally the last two words – to discover that this is not being introduced until October 2024.
The services include general advice, guidance on environmental impact assessment, fast-track applications, and matters important and relevant to decisions. That last one is interesting given that this is pre-application advice, but of course one must always keep an eye on the decision at the end.
Fuller details are coming in a yet-to-be published but possibly this month ‘Pre-Application Prospectus’, but we know it will be in the amount of £2300 per day on which services are provided. I am yet to understand how the daily rate will correspond to the three proposed levels of service and whether you can refuse them altogether or have to choose one – the regulations say fees are charged when the applicant ‘requests pre-application services’. It would of course be quite difficult not to engage at all with the Planning Inspectorate before making an application, so in practice, such advice is likely to be unavoidable.
