Costs, Fees and Budgeting – Page 8
What planning applications, reports, surveys and appeals cost, with published fee schedules.
Costs, Fees and Budgeting articles – page 8
357 articlesUtility diversions and the cost nobody budgets
A cable across the site or a main under the access is a six figure possibility and a programme item measured in months. This covers surveys, cost liability, quotations, easements and abandoned apparatus.
Construction management plan conditions and their cost
The cost of a construction management plan is the cost of complying with it for the whole build. This sets out the recurring items, the highway licences it commits you to, and how to negotiate the condition.
Resubmitting after a refusal and the cost decision
Whether to appeal or reapply comes from the refusal reasons, not the fee schedule. This sets out principle against detail objections, the fee and deadline position on each route, and the second refusal risk.
Flood modelling inputs and what they add to a report
Modelling is what separates a few hundred pounds from tens of thousands in a Flood Risk Assessment. This sets out when it is needed, how to reuse Environment Agency data, and the five cost drivers.
Party wall surveyors on a basement project
Basement excavation triggers the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 by geometry, not by objection. Here is how the surveyor appointments work, who pays the fees, and what the award will control on site.
Late stage review mechanisms and what they cost to run
A late stage review reopens the affordable housing contribution once real costs and values are known. The triggers, the inputs to fix at the outset, and the four costs of running one.
Bonds and sureties in planning obligations
A section 106 obligation binds the land, but it will not build a play area for an insolvent developer. How bonds and sureties work, what triggers a call and how to draft the release.
Open space and play space contribution formulas
An open space contribution is population yield multiplied by an area standard and a cost rate. Most of the error sits in the yield. How the formulas work and where they can be challenged.
Off site affordable housing payments and the calculation
A payment in lieu of on site affordable housing is calculated, not guessed. The value gap method, transfer values, the regulation 122 tests and the clauses that decide what it really costs.
Travel plan monitoring contributions and their term
A travel plan obligation runs for years after occupation. The monitoring term, the bond release mechanism and what happens when targets are missed are all negotiable.
Whole life carbon at planning stage and the data problem
At planning stage a whole life carbon assessment is a forecast built on generic data and estimated quantities. Say so, report the uncertainty, and run it early enough to change the design.
Diffusion tube monitoring and the twelve month question
Twelve months of diffusion tube data removes the argument. Less than that needs annualisation, and which months you cover matters as much as how many.
Ground investigation spend on a small site
Small-site ground investigations usually cost more than they should because the work is split across three visits. Combining geotechnical, contamination and infiltration work saves the most.
Deemed discharge and the fee you do not get back
Deemed discharge treats a condition as approved when the council fails to determine the application in time. The exclusions are wide and the fee is never refunded.
Scoping opinion requests and the spend they control
A scoping opinion under the EIA Regulations 2017 sets what the Environmental Statement must cover. The quality of your request decides whether it narrows the evidence base or widens it.
Screening opinion requests and what they save you
A screening opinion answers one question: is this environmental impact assessment development? The request costs days. Getting the answer wrong costs months.
Tree works applications and the absence of a fee
Works to a protected tree and a conservation area tree notice are both free to submit. The cost sits in the survey, the contractor and the replacement planting.
Stage payments and cash flow on a small development
Planning costs arrive in four bursts, not evenly. Mapping each one against the programme is what keeps a small development's cash flow from failing at discharge stage.
Planning fee indexation and budgeting across a year
Planning fees in England are indexed annually from 1 April and fixed by the date of a valid application. That single date shapes how a practice packages its submissions.
Professional review fees and when sign-off is required
Some planning reports must be authored by a licensed or competent person; most only need a specialist read and sign-off. The difference decides what a review costs and when to book it.
Nutrient neutrality mitigation and how it is budgeted
Nutrient neutrality is a catchment-wide constraint that has to be priced into the land bid. The delay risk usually costs more than the mitigation.
VAT on conversions and new builds in planning terms
A condition prohibiting separate use or disposal removes zero rating from a new dwelling. Sort the wording at application stage, not after the decision notice.
Water and sewerage connection charges explained
A sewer connection charge is rarely one number. Infrastructure charges, the connection itself and any requisition are three separate costs under the Water Industry Act 1991.
Section 106 monitoring fees and what is reasonable
Monitoring fees in planning obligations have had a statutory footing since September 2019. Regulation 122(2A) sets the ceiling, and the calculation behind the figure is fair game.
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