A letter from the EA recently dropped on the mat informing me that from the 3rd February 2014 they would be seeking to charge for advice.
The letter notes;
We are
introducing a charge for planning advice across the whole of England. This service
is being launched at different times across the country and in Anglian Region
we will begin charging for advice to developers and their consultants from 3
February 2014. A map showing the area we cover is attached. [see below]
You will
still receive a free service in the form of a preliminary opinion. As part of
this preliminary opinion we will outline our position and highlight any
environmental issues we may be concerned about as a statutory consultee. You
can then receive further bespoke advice, if required, at a chargeable rate.
This could include the review of technical documents, meetings or site visits. As
part of this chargeable service, a project manager from the Environment Agency
will act as a single point of contact, co-ordinating the chargeable service for
each customer.
Once the
terms of reference are agreed, our finance service centre will invoice each
quarter. Our charges will be £84 per hour and we do not charge VAT. These
charges will apply for all new and ongoing discussions from 3 February 2014.
In the light of recent events, and the continuing cutbacks in Government public expenditure, it is perhaps inevitable that such actions are being rolled out.
Still, it does make you wonder whether any advice you might receive from a paid for consultation can be relied upon - or will the inevitable caveats that planning departments tack onto their advice be applied in the same way?
I have always found EA engineers to be pragmatic and practical in their approach to development proposals and I do hope that fee charging (and its attendant professional liabilities) will not diminish their approach in the future.
