North Devon farmers to pay less to speed up planning process

There's currently "blockages in the system"

North Devon farmers are to pay less for getting projects through the planning process quickly.

The district council is to waive pre-planning application fees for advice, which start at £56 but can rise to many hundreds of pounds for large applications, to support farmers.

Such advice can give an indication to whether a full application might succeed.

The council’s policy development committee heard that some farmers sre put off by the cost and instead apply for consent for agricultural projects without council advice, risking the chance of refusal.

In some cases, additional or complex information is needed, which could cause deadlines for grant money to be spent to be missed.

Council chief executive Ken Miles said although it may seem that pre-application advice is an extra part of the process, it streamlines the process and provides “a steer” to whether plans would be approved.

Ecological and environmental impact surveys and biodiversity reports could also be sorted early.

The council is also bringing together the Environment Agency, Natural England and the planning department to better understand agricultural applications which are often in protected areas such as National Landscapes or Sites of Special Scientific Interest.