Question reference: S4W-24001
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 13 January 2015
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Current status: Answered by Alex Neil on 21 January 2015
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what planning fees apply to proposed 17-turbine wind farm developments, and how these compare with the fees charged in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.
Answer
<>Any planning application to install wind turbines is considered, for the purposes of fee calculation, as an application for the erection, alteration or replacement of plant or machinery. As such, the fee is calculated based on the area of land covered by the development, including the area covered by access tracks etc., rather than the number of turbines. The fee payable for applications containing the same number of turbines could therefore vary from site to site. The potential for variation in the fee is the same for applications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Current fees for applications for full planning permission for the erection, alteration or replacement of plant or machinery are set out in the following table:
| Scotland | £401 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area, subject to a maximum of £20,055. |
| England | Where the site area does not exceed five hectares, £385 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area. Where the site area exceeds five hectares, £19,049; and an additional £115 for each 0.1 hectare in excess of five hectares up to a maximum total of £250,000. |
| Wales | Where the site area does not exceed five hectares, £335 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area. Where the site area exceeds five hectares, £16,464; and an additional £84 for each 0.1 hectare in excess of five hectares up to a maximum total of £250,000. |
| Northern Ireland | Where the site area does not exceed five hectares, £357 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area. Where the site area exceeds five hectares, £17,824; and an additional £106 for each 0.1 hectare in excess of five hectares, subject to a maximum in total of £265,806. |
Applications for wind farms which would have a capacity of more than 50 megawatts electricity would not be dealt with through the planning system, but would be considered under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. The fee for such an application would range from £18,000 to £60,000 depending on the capacity of the wind farm.