§ Mr. Speller asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will amend the scale of planning application fees to remove the anomaly caused by basing them on land area rather than the value of work to be done which results in some cases in the fee for the same project in the countryside being £160 compared with only £40 in an urban area.
§ Mr. Giles Shaw:My right hon. Friend would be reluctant to depart from the simple principle of charging for outline applications according to the area of the application site. The alternative of charging according to value of work done would create formidable problems of 288W assessment. An application for a large plot is liable to raise considerations not involved in an application for a small plot, and it is accordingly not unreasonable that there should be some difference in the charges levied.