Agenda item

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment recommending a new set of charges for the Highways Act 1980 licences and consents and setting out a rationale for their calculation so that they can be updated more regularly and on a consistent basis going forward.

A Member noted that the charges had not been reviewed for at least 20 years and suggested that this Committee ought to therefore agree an appropriate period of review going forward. He added that he felt that it was very important for the City to recover costs when undertaking work for developers. The Chair welcomed this suggestion for more regular reviews. Officers accepted that the charges ought to be reviewed more frequently and reported that they had actually been reviewed approximately 8 years ago but were unsure as to why that review had not resulted in a report to this Committee to reform the charges at that time. It was suggested that in future an annual review of the charges reflecting changes in officers’ charge out rates and any other relevant changes in the financial context would be preferable.

RESOLVED – That Members agree the recommended charges set out in the summary table at Appendix 1 to this report for section 176(1) licences (in relation to bridges); section 177(1) licences (in relation to buildings); section 179(1) consents (in relation to vaults, arches, cellars and building foundations); section 180(1) consents (in relation to openings into cellars and vaults); and section 180(2) consents (in relation to pavement lights and ventilators)