Housebuilder Saved £000s In Development Bond Charges

Man of Action Posted on March 7, 2013 Posted in News

The Scottish Ministers has allowed an appeal by Pearson Planning, Chartered Surveyors to alter a legal agreement that required the UK’s largest housebuilder to purchase a financial bond for a 10 year period. The Housebuilder was originally required to give financial surity for landscaping & maintenance one of it new residential sites. However, on discovering that its competitors in the area were not subject to such a penalty Pearson Planning was asked to provide assistance. The Scottish Ministers decision has saved the Housebuilder up to £20,000 in bond fees.

Edinburgh, 12 November, and Ivan McKee MSP announced to the national assembly that work on introducing a Community Infrstructure Levy in Scotland is “stopped”. Ivan ‘the terrible’ McKee recognised that the Levy was not welcome. There is a general acceptance, too, that much needed house building is being stalled by disproportionate obligation demands, and as Ivan says “unpredictable, costly and lengthy” planning application processes. McKee, branded ‘the terrible’ because of His handling of public finances north of the Cheviots, offers only one solution: higher planning fees! Genius! Increasing (again) authority revenues is not the solution. The vast majority of applications are determined by individual Officers (many of which have no professional qualifications) without the right of appeal. This needs to stop. SNP Government spending for 2023-2024 had a negative fiscal balance of -£22 billion. This must stop.