Residents, developers, and agents seeking advice about their forthcoming planning applications will soon have to pay for the service, due to new changes being rolled out at the council.
From 1 September 2023, Chesterfield Borough Council will start to charge for advice given before an application is submitted to the council.
As part of the new process customers will now have to provide details of the proposal in writing or by email together with the requisite fee.
Those applying should provide sufficient detail of the proposal and the extent of the site to allow the council to fully understand and interpret proposals and to permit a proper assessment of the scheme.
The fee should be paid over the telephone by calling 01246 345008. Guidance and information about this are provided on the council’s website under a pre-application advice tab on the planning pages.
Prices for the advice will vary according to the scheme but a full schedule is available on the council’s website.
Councillor Martin Stone, cabinet member for climate change, planning and environment, said: “It is always a difficult decision for the council to start to charge for additional services. However, after careful consideration taking into account officers’ expertise and the amount of time that is allocated to pre-application advice, we have decided to implement the new charges from the start of September.
“There will also be some exceptions when a fee will not be charged, including advice sought by local voluntary and community groups, parish councils, county council and government departments and for the borough council’s own development proposals”.
If you have any queries about the new process, please contact planning@chesterfield.gov.uk
