Report by Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (circulated previously) regarding the Review of Fees and Charges for Services 2025-26.

The Finance Manager highlighted the following:

·         This year the guidance was to increase fees and charges by 3%, although some fees were set by statute and those would be set nationally.  Other variations to the 3% increase were set out in sections 4.3 to 4.8 of the report.

·         Building Control fees had been raised by an average of 13.42% and rounded to the nearest pound, this was to ensure the revenue income recouped the actual cost of providing the service, were competitive in the sector and provided the Partnership with protection against additional temporary staffing costs that were likely to be experienced during the year, as detailed in Appendix B of the report.

·         Land Charges fees had been set to recoup the cost of providing the service, the recommended fees for the land charges service was estimated to recover all the costs and break even, as detailed in Appendix D of the report.

·         The majority of Environmental Health and Housing services were set by statute or set to recover costs.  A minor exception to this was that there was no planned increase on charges for “Health and Food Certificates” as detailed in Appendix E of the report.

·         Cemeteries fees were set to increase by 6%, (3% inflationary uplift, plus an additional 3%).  This was to enable the fees to be brought closer in line with comparative figures around the County, as detailed in Appendix F of the report.

·         The Garden Waste service charge was to remain unchanged at £60, due to the £5 increases in the previous two financial years (2023/24 and 2024/25), as detailed in Appendix J of the report.

·         Street Name Plates had had a simplification of its charging structure, including an uplift to reflect no inflationary increase in the previous seven years.  Fees were now set to recoup the cost of providing the service, as detailed in Appendix P of the report.

·         The net revenue changes from the above charges was estimated to produce £25,000 of additional income, which had been included within the draft 2025/26 revenue budget, for consideration as an item included within this agenda.

RECOMMENDED:

(a)  That Council approve the 3% increase, (some rounded), in fees for the 2025/26 financial year, for the following services:

                     I.        Allotments – as detailed at Appendix A of the report.

                    II.        Trade Waste – as detailed at Appendix C of the report.

                  III.        Sports Pitches – as detailed at Appendix G of the report.

                  IV.        Pannier Market – as detailed at Appendix H of the report.

                   V.        Bulky Household Waste Collections – as detailed at Appendix I of the report.

                  VI.        Pre-application Planning Fees – as detailed at Appendix K of the report.

                VII.        Dog Waste – as detailed at Appendix K of the report.

               VIII.        Event Licence – as detailed at Appendix M of the report.

                  IX.        Contractor Licence – as detailed at Appendix N of the report.

                   X.        Modification of S106 agreements – as detailed at Appendix O of the report; and

(b)  That Council approve to vary the remaining fees by the elements outlined in section 4.3 to 4.8 of the report.