Central Government is raising planning application fees nationwide from the 17th January. East Cambs has decided to reinvest the additional income it receives from the increased fees back into the service to improve the service to homeowners and developers.


Councillor Joshua Schumann, Chair of the Planning Committee at East Cambridgeshire District Council (ECDC), said: 

“We want residents to know that ECDC is already exploring how this national increase can be put back into delivering a better service for our residents.

“Providing an efficient and effective planning service is top of my agenda as chair. We have already achieved a considerable amount, with at least 96% of householder applications determined within agreed timescales.

“The additional fees will allow us to build on this success and make the processes of putting in a planning application easier for applicants.”


From 11 January 2017 to 10 January 2018, ECDC has granted approval to 83% of applications by working with applicants to help them comply with planning policy.


The Council will be looking to improve the department further by upgrading their digital technology to communicate with applicants and parish councils, streamlining the amount of paper and postage costs, as well as investing in training to enhance the standard of support in specialist areas such as urban design, landscape assessments and landscaping schemes.


More information about the new planning legislation.