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Executive Summary
- The Scottish Executive consulted
on the Fees Payable by Applicants for Consent under the
Electricity (Applications for Consent) Scotland
Regulations 1990. These fees are payable by developers
under section 36 and section 37 of the Electricity Act
to the Scottish Executive and are paid into the
Scottish Consolidated Fund. The consultation sought
views on whether the range of fees should be increased
and used to reimburse local authorities for work they
carry out in processing applications.
- There were 26 responses to the
consultation. This report categorises the respondents
into five broad interest groups.
- The response level for each group
was compared to those invited to respond. Highest
response rates came from trade bodies and local
authorities, although several of the groups had only a
few respondents.
- The consultation asked three
questions:
- Do you agree that the revised scale of fees
detailed in Annex A should be introduced?
- Do you agree that arrangements should be introduced
to compensate planning authorities for the costs they
incur in processing Electricity Act consents
cases?
- Do you agree with proposed reimbursement
arrangements?
- Respondents accepted questions 1
and 2 (66% and 72% indicating yes respectively).
However, 73% rejected answered no to question 3,
showing strong disagreement with the proposed
reimbursement arrangements.
- Rejection of question 3 centred
on the need to complete applications within four months
in order to claim maximum reimbursement, the need to
provide a detailed breakdown of costs to the Executive
and that no fee is recoverable for overhead line
applications which require an EIA and have a voltage
not exceeding 132 kV.
- The Executive has considered the
results and a response can be found in the
conclusion.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Analysis of Responses
Chapter 3: Analysis of Questions
Chapter 4: Conclusion
Annex A: Consultation Paper
Annex B: Distribution List