Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Permit Scheme

12.1 Permit Authority's power to charge Fees

To meet the costs of introducing and operating the Permit Scheme, Regulation 30 of the Regulations gives the Permit Authority the power to charge a fee in respect of the following:

•  the application for a PAA
• the granting of a permit
• each occasion where there is a variation to the permit and or the conditions attached
• where a permit variation would move an activity into a higher permit category, the activity promoter will be required to pay the difference between the permit categories as well as the permit variation fee.

The current level of Permit fees; including variations, reflect the cost of running the current noticing system.  Permit fees do not include costs charged or recoverable in relation to other consents or other requirements such as for TTRO's, parking or Bus stop suspensions etc.

Fees are payable by statutory undertakers but not the Highway Authority.  This is due to the fact that monies would circulate around the Highway Authority.  However to promote good practice the Permit Authority will use a shadow charging arrangement to show the cost of issuing permits to its own promoters both to help understand its own costs and to set alongside the costs to other promoters. 

12.2 Allowable Costs and Fees

The income shall not exceed the total allowable costs prescribed in the Regulations.  The allowable costs of the complete scheme and its overall income have to be balanced.  This balance can be achieved over several years from the commencement of the permit scheme.

Allowable costs are limited to the proportion of direct costs and overheads attributable to operating the scheme for undertakers and the element of those costs over and above the cost of the Authority's co-ordination duty under NRSWA.

This includes the cost of dealing with activities which required a permit but for which no permit was sought and proposed activities which would be subject to a permit but which do not lead to an application.

Overheads can include but are not limited to:

• non salary staff related costs such as pensions and benefits
• appropriate accommodation costs
• central services costs
• an appropriate share of IT costs (software and hardware)
• general administration and management
• monitoring the permit system and KPI production
• invoicing and debt recovery.

12.3  Fee Policy

The Permit Authority will charge undertakers for the actions set out in 12.1 and in accordance with 12.2.

12.4 Where Fees will not be chargeable

Fees will not be payable in the following circumstances:

• cancellation of a permit - prior to the Permit Authority's granting, a promoter cancels the permit
• refusal of permit or variation - where an application for a permit or variation is refused
• revocation of permit - where a permit is revoked on the Permit Authority's own initiative and the promoter had to apply for a new permit there will be no fee for the new permit except where the original permit is revoked as a consequence of any action or omission on the part of the promoter.
• authority imposed variation - for permit variations initiated by the Permit Authority, unless at the same time promoter seeks variations which are not the result of the circumstances causing the Permit Authority's action (in which case the fee would be payable)
• deemed permit - where the Permit Authority fails to respond to application for a permit within the relevant timescales and the permit is subsequently deemed to be granted.

12.5  Circumstances where fees may be reduced

Where Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is satisfied that applications for two or more permits (including PAAs):

• are submitted within 3 working days of each other, beginning with the day on which the first permit application is received; and
• are the result of the applicant or applicants working together so as to produce the least impact for users of the streets

There will be a reduction of 30% from the permit or PAA fee. All applications, including the first to be received, must indicate that they are being submitted together (within 3 days).

Where the Highway Authority Promoter is collaborating with Statutory Undertakers, those Undertakers will be eligible for the discount.

Where works are undertaken wholly outside of traffic sensitive times on Traffic Sensitive Streets the Permit Authority may reduce the fee.

A discount may be applied where it is demonstrated that an activity provides significant economic benefit to the local authority or Council. These will be agreed on an ad-hoc basis

12.6 Option to Waive or Reduce Fees

The Permit Authority retains the option to waive or reduce fees at its discretion in other circumstances.

12.7 Review of Fees

The Permit Authority will review its level of fees in line with the regulations to ensure that the overall fee income does not exceed the allowable costs. In the event of a surplus the fee income will be applied towards the cost of the Permit Scheme in the next year and the fee levels adjusted accordingly. However the fees should be showing not to be covering the allowable costs a review of the schemes prescribed costs will be carried out and a fee review undertaken in line with the appropriate legislative pathway of the time

The outcome of any fee reviews will be published and open to public scrutiny.

12.8 Approved Level of Fees

The current approved level of fees is included in the order made by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council the Permit Authority to operate the Permit Scheme