Cost of living support

Colchester City Council is providing support for residents facing the cost of living crisis.

Fees and Charges for Pre-Application Advice

The fee depends on the type of application you are submitting.

Minor

Householder
Written response only - £75.00 (+ VAT)
Written response plus meeting with site visit - £165.00 (+ VAT)

Residential
1 - 4 units
Written Response Only - £200.00 (+ VAT)
Extra activity to be agreed in advance - £85.00 per hour (+ VAT)

Residential
5 - 9 units
Written Response Only - £280.00 (+ VAT)
Extra activity to be agreed in advance - £85.00 per hour (+ VAT)

Commercial
Written Response Only - £230.00 (+ VAT)
Extra activity to be agreed in advance - £85.00 per hour (+ VAT)

Industrial and other
Written Response Only - £250.00 (+ VAT)
Extra activity to be agreed in advance - £85.00 per hour (+ VAT)

Listed Building
Written Response and Site Visit - £250.00 (+ VAT)
Site visit only - £85.00 per hour (+ VAT) including travel time
(Prior agreement with the Historic Buildings and Areas Officer)

Major

Standard
10 - 49 units
1,000 - 1,999 m² floor space
Site is 1 - 2 ha
Written response only - £585.00 (+ VAT) per letter
Initial meeting + written confirmation (3 hours)* - £1,130.00 (+ VAT)
*Specialist advice from Spatial Policy Team - £150.00 (+ VAT)
Subsequent charge per meeting (3 hours) - £585.00 (+ VAT)

Large
50 - 99 units
2,000 - 4,999 m² floor space
Site is 2 - 3 ha
Initial meeting + written confirmation (3 hours)* - £1,500.00 (+ VAT)
*Specialist advice from Spatial Policy Team - £150.00 (+ VAT)
Subsequent charge per meeting (3 hours) - £900.00 (+ VAT)

Super
100+ units
5,000 m² + floor space
Site is 3 ha +
Initial meeting + written confirmation (3 hours)* - £1,800.00 (+ VAT)
*Specialist advice from Spatial Policy Team - £150.00 (+ VAT)
Subsequent charge per meeting (3 hours) - £1,160.00 (+ VAT)

Adhoc advice

Planning Manager
1st Hour - £190.00 (+ VAT)
Subsequent charge per hour - £105.00 (+ VAT)

Principal Planning Officer
1st Hour - £155.00 (+ VAT)
Subsequent charge per hour - £90.00 (+ VAT)

Planning Officer
1st Hour - £145.00 (+ VAT)
Subsequent charge per hour - £85.00 (+ VAT)

Tree Officer
1st Hour - £140.00 (+ VAT)
Subsequent charge per hour - £90.00 (+ VAT)

Landscape Planning Officer
1st Hour - £140.00 (+ VAT)
Subsequent charge per hour - £90.00 (+ VAT)

Confirmation of compliance with planning permission
Residential Developments Only
Householder - £75.00 (+ VAT)
1 New Dwelling - £115.00 (+ VAT)
Each additional dwelling up to 9 - £60.00 (+ VAT)

All fees are based on estimated officer time and hourly costs and aim to provide cost recovery only.

Where a scheme falls within the definition criteria for more than one category, the highest applicable fee will be charged unless determined by us.

Cancellation Charges

Where a request for pre-application advice is made and subsequently cancelled, the following charges will apply:

Cancellation notified within 0 to 5 working days of the submission of the original request - 25% of fee
Cancellation notified within 6 to 10 working days of the submission of the original request - 50% of fee
Cancellation notified more than 11 working days after the submission of the original request - 100% of fee

External Statutory Consultees

When you receive your Preliminary Enquiry Report, it will contain our opinion. It will not contain other opinions made from Statutory Consultees that maybe interested in your building project.

Statutory consultees may charge for preliminary advice therefore you are advised to check their fees.

The following maybe interested in your application:

Additional Fees

You may also be liable to planning obligations such as Section 106 agreements. What's this?

Additional fees for any landscape advice that fall outside of a pre-application enquiry, planning application or planning performance agreement may be applicable.

There may also be additional fees for public open space adoption.

Fees for Landscape Consultancy