Leading local authorities with the largest number of listed buildings across the UK have joined forces to urge the Government to free them from fixed planning fees which cost taxpayers millions and in the current financial climate are unsustainable, putting the nation’s historic architecture at risk.
City of Westminster reports as follows:
Due to outdated rules taxpayers effectively subsidise some of the wealthiest developers in the UK as councils cannot recover their costs from handling complex planning applications.
The worst affected councils, are home to some of the country’s most historic buildings, including the UNESCO world heritage site of the Palace of Westminster in London, the birthplace of William Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon, and northern Europe’s largest Gothic cathedral York – which has applied for world heritage site recognition. Council leaders have now called on the Communities and Local Government Minister of State, Greg Clark MP, to allow them to charge for listed building consents.
They have warned the Government that unless they’re able to set fees to recover their costs then there would have to be cuts to the important historic building maintenance service. Westminster City Council alone spends £5m a year of taxpayers’ money subsidising half of its 10,500 planning related applications which it is not allowed to charge for. Around 20 per cent of all planning applications relate to Listed Building Consent. Other applications which do not incur a fee, a further 30% of the total in Westminster, include conservation area consents and tree preservation orders.
Without the ability to charge, local taxpayers in areas with large number of listed properties will continue to pick up the bill – impacting on services already under pressure following the Comprehensive Spending Review, and putting at risk the nation’s heritage as planning departments make further cuts.
In a letter sent to Minister Greg Clark, which has also been signed by eight councils including Westminster, Stratford-upon-Avon, York, Kensington and Chelsea, Birmingham, Camden, Wiltshire, and Newcastle councils, they warn: “Listed building, conservation area and tree applications require specialist staff. With local authorities being required to make significant savings over coming months, it is important to ensure this specialism is retained if we are to avoid compromising on our heritage.”
Cllr Robert Davis, Westminster City Council’s Deputy Leader, who has led the campaign, said:”We believe that our campaign is in keeping with the government’s commitment to freeing local authorities of regulation and devolving power to a local level.
“This is essential to ensure we and many other councils across the UK are able to retain the specialist skills required to handle complex developments, which often run into tens of millions of pounds or involve some of the country’s most sensitive sites.”We’re not going cap in hand to the Government pleading for money, we are acutely aware of the financial situation. It’s only fair that the developers who also benefit from this expertise and staff time at least cover the costs.”
Under the Government’s plans to reform the planning application fee system, reform proposals look set to continue to exclude the charging fees for listed building and conservation area consents – the very areas which often require the most expertise and take the most time to handle.
The campaign has also won the support of the leading figures in the property industry, with developers also stating they are willing to pay the extra money to ensure their developments are not jeopardised by a skills shortage.
Robert Noel, Chairman of the Westminster Property Association, whose members number some of the largest developers in the UK including Land Securities, British Land, Great Portland Estates, Capital & Counties, Derwent London, Heron, Grosvenor, the Crown Estate and Shaftesbury, said: “Effective and efficient planning policy and development management is vital to London’s sustainability as the global exemplar. Landowners, developers and homeowners, including those with listed buildings, who wish to carry out developments or alterations to their buildings should pay for the cost of running these departments. In return, local authorities should be under a clear duty to run efficient and properly resourced departments.”
Westminster Press Release: LINK
Search Planning Portal: LINK
