Decision details

The Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation);
a) approved the increase in fees and charges as set out in Appendices A, B and C to this report.
b) The mid-year increases are to reflect the anticipated Pay Award (which is set nationally) and which will be higher than previously accounted for in the 2022/2023 budget, and increased inflation and construction costs. The increases have been applied to the 2021/2022 fees and charges, not those approved in March 2022.
c) The Appendix A increase reflects the increases to salaries and general income inflation reflective of national pay discussions. For the majority of charges relating to staff costs the amounts to an 8% increase to the 2021/2022 charges rounded to the nearest ten pence.
d) The commuted sum schedule in Appendix B has had a further rate rise which amounts to a 9.1% increase to the 2021/22 charges in line with the rise in construction and materials costs. The fees for S278 agreements are also proposed to rise by 8% from the 2021/22 values in line with general income inflation, rounded to the nearest pound, these are given in Appendix C.
e) Traffic Engineering have confirmed that the charge for repeat, small scale, local community events is a fee of £100 and that this is not subject to the annual percentage uplift. This fee is likely to be reviewed in the 2023/24 Annual Review of Fees and Charges for Various Highway Functions and Services. Similarly, Site Development have confirmed that the charge for stopping up orders is unchanged and likely to be reviewed in the 2023/24 report.
f) Fees to cover the time spent advising and coordinating professional filming on the Highway were only introduced in April 2022. It is proposed to continue with the previously approved fees and monitor their effectiveness over the full year, with the intention that they are reviewed in the 2023/24 annual review.