Masterplan Consent Areas - draft regulations: consultation

Resources

Discretionary Charging

76. We are aware of previous concerns over resources required for planning authorities to set up SPZs (the predecessor to MCAs) and a loss of planning application fees. We are also very mindful of the current pressures on planning authority resources.

77. A consultation on Planning Performance and Fees was undertaken between December 2019 and February 2020. It included two questions relating to MCAs, asking:

• whether an authority should be able to charge for development within a MCA in order to recoup the costs involved in setting one up. From the responses received:
  • a substantial majority (87%) supported the proposal for planning authorities to be able to recoup the costs involved in setting up a MCA. The principle of recouping costs was supported by all groups.
  • there was a suggestion that the fees should be left to the discretion of the planning authority to reflect their costs at a local level.
• whether the Scottish Government should set a fee or an upper limit in the regulations. From the responses received:
  • there was 58% support for the setting of a fee or upper limit in regulations.

78. A separate Scottish Government consultation focusing on wider resourcing considerations is running concurrently with this consultation and will include a number of questions covering MCAs and discretionary charging.