Certificate of Lawful Existing Development Fees - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)
Open group
|
Started - July 2012
|
Last activity - Yesterday
Certificate of Lawful Existing Development Fees
We have received an application for a certificate of lawful existing development relating to a development for four houses for which the private access road and the foundations for one of the property have been constructed. The application seeks confirmation that the permission for the 4 houses has been implemented by virtue of the lawful construction of the driveway and foundation. The application is for a certificate of lawfulness for "construction of the access driveway and foundations for plot 2 in accordance with the approved drawings". The approved drawings are for the 4 houses and the supporting documentation refers to the 4 house permission and therefore I think that the fee should be £1540 however the agent is contesting that the fee should only be for the single house and access (based on site area). Has anyone had experience of this and how have they calculated the fee?
Gavin. I have just submitted an almost identical application in respect of a site that received planning permission for 8 dwellings. As in your case, the access had been laid out. Drainage had been also been laid and the foundations for one of the 8 dwellings dug. A fee equivilant to the planning application fee for 1 of the 8 dwellings was fully accepted by the Planning Authority on the basis that if the implementation of the permission was lawful for 1, it would equally be so for the remaining 7. With respect to any fee for the access, this wouldn't be included separately in a planning application fee calculation, so should not come into the LDC fee calculation. Mike
Michael, that sounds logical in that the fee relates to what is being applied for. I suppose the assessment and resulting certificate would be limited to whether the construction of the access driveway and foundations to plot 2 is/are lawful. The certificate might not confirm the lawfulness of implementing the remainder of the works authorised, other than by implication - but as Michael says that implication is likely to be robust and it is a risk the developer appears willing to take to save £1000. Provided he/she is willing to take that risk a developer might be best advised to apply only for the part of the development which attracts the lowest fee. But I think Gavin's argument is reasonable enough: if what is sought is confirmation that the planning permission as a whole has been lawfully implemented then the fee should relate to the whole of the development to which the permission relates.
Nick. Surely though the fee should be based on what has actually been applied for, in this instance just the 1 house. As you say, it is then the developers risk in respect of the other 3. I would have that that risk would however be negligable. Would the LPA consider enforcement action when work statred on the 2nd house?
Michael, I agree entirely. It's just from what Gavin says there is some ambiguity in the way the application has been worded. So I think the developer has a choice of either making it clear that his application is for just the access and foundation, or re-wording his application and paying the full fee if if what he really wants is a certificate relating to the whole development. I also agree that certifying that the works carried out so far are lawful is likely to mean that the remaining development can be lawfully implemented, so on the face of it there would be no reason to consider enforcement action (in the absence of some unknown factor such as a condition or obligation triggered by construction the second house!).