RICS Wales is the principal body representing professionals employed in the land, property and construction sector and represents some 4000 members.

As part of our Royal Charter we have a commitment to provide advice to the Government of the day and in doing so we have an obligation to bear in mind the public interest as well as the interest of members. The RICS membership is diverse covering all aspects of the land and property industry. 

RICS Wales' response to the first question is below, for the full document, please click on the link to the right of the page. 

Do you think there should be a % increase in fees and if so, why?

RICS Wales agrees that planning is a key service and that Local Planning Authorities need to be properly resourced. Whilst RICS Wales supports increases in fees which meet cost recovery any increase should be matched by a proportionate increase in performance.

It is noted that fees for planning applications have increased by 45% since 2004. Users need to be confident that in bearing more of the cost of the service they are also receiving a better quality service. In this respect it would have been helpful to know how the planning service will be improved. Will it be through increased resource, increased efficiency or more concentration on fee related work for example.

Increases in fees should be accompanied by Comprehensive Performance Assessment. 

To download the remainder of the document, please click on the link to the right of the page.

Should you need any more information on policy issues please contact the RICS Wales Policy Officer, John Harper on +44 (0)29 2022 4414 or jharper@rics.org