URL: https://democracy.crawley.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=814

Decision Maker: Head of Economy and Planning

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Purpose: Since 2006, Horsham District Council has delivered building control services on behalf of Crawley Borough Council under Sussex Building Control. Following the decision by Horsham District Council to terminate the Sussex Building Control Shared Service Agreement, Crawley Borough Council (CBC) is now transitioning to establish the Crawley Building Control Team as part of the Council’s Economy and Planning Service. Crawley Building Control and its new web pages presenting its services and related guidance on how to prepare and submit building control applications to CBC will go live on 23rd October 2025. To help enable these new services to function correctly, it is necessary for Crawley Building Control to establish fees and charges which building control applicants will be required to pay for Crawley Building Control services related to either the processing of full plan checks, or site inspections, building notices, or other types of building control applications such as regularisations as well as in return for chargeable advice.   Appendices A, B and C set out the fees and charges for the above applications in regard to: • Appendix A: new build residential dwellings and to alterations to domestic dwellings (extensions, building conversions etc). • Appendix B: Dwelling - houses and flats not exceeding 250m2 or more than 3 storeys • Appendix C: Non-domestic work (not more than 3 storeys above ground level)   Please note that Appendices B & C are not available to the public by virtue of Paragraph 3 of the Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.  Appendix A is published alongside this decision on the Council’s website via Bulletin IB/1307.  Appendices B and C can be viewed by Councillors only on the Council’s intranet version of Bulletin IB/1307. The Head of Economy and Planning has taken the decision for the Fees and Charges set out in Appendices A, B and C to be adopted by the new Crawley Building Control team and to take effect as the fees and charges for Crawley Borough Council’s Building Control function from 23 October 2025. The levels of these fees and charges are commensurate with the current fees and charges set out and calculated by Horsham District Council for Sussex Building Control in accordance with The Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010. Retaining the same levels of fees and charges as Horsham DC through Sussex Building Control is considered appropriate for business continuity reasons and to facilitate the transition to Crawley Building Control services from HDC Sussex Building Control services by builders, developers, residents and other applicants. The charges set out in Appendices A, B and C are also intended to help contribute to the cost of the establishment and maintenance of the new Crawley Building Control service. The charges have been set for the functions prescribed in Regulation 4 of the Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010, namely: • A plan charge, payable when plans of the building work are deposited with the Authority. • An inspection charge, payable on demand after the Authority carries out the first inspection in respect of which the charge is payable if not paid in advance. • A building notice charge, payable when the Building Notice is given to the Local Authority. • A regularisation charge, which is payable at the time of the application to the Authority in accordance with Regulation 21 of the Building Regulations. • Chargeable advice, payable on demand where pre-application advice exceeds 1 hour and has been agreed in advance. This charge may be discounted from a subsequent application for the work in question. Retaining the fees and charges set out in Appendices A, B and C at the same levels as Sussex Building Control will also support a smoother service transition to Crawley BC for the following reasons: • Compliance: The existing fees and charges have been calculated by the current service provider Horsham District council under Sussex Building in accordance with legal and statutory requirements. • Efficiency: Retaining the current cost saves valuable time for the new incoming Building Control team. • Benchmarking: The current fee structure provides a useful reference point for future in-house calculations of fees and charges.

Content: Since 2006, Horsham District Council has delivered building control services on behalf of Crawley Borough Council under Sussex Building Control. Following the decision by Horsham District Council to terminate the Sussex Building Control Shared Service Agreement, Crawley Borough Council (CBC) is now transitioning to establish the Crawley Building Control Team as part of the Council’s Economy and Planning Service. Crawley Building Control and its new web pages presenting its services and related guidance on how to prepare and submit building control applications to CBC will go live on 23rd October 2025. To help enable these new services to function correctly, it is necessary for Crawley Building Control to establish fees and charges which building control applicants will be required to pay for Crawley Building Control services related to either the processing of full plan checks, or site inspections, building notices, or other types of building control applications such as regularisations as well as in return for chargeable advice.   Appendices A, B and C set out the fees and charges for the above applications in regard to: • Appendix A: new build residential dwellings and to alterations to domestic dwellings (extensions, building conversions etc). • Appendix B: Dwelling - houses and flats not exceeding 250m2 or more than 3 storeys • Appendix C: Non-domestic work (not more than 3 storeys above ground level)   Please note that Appendices B & C are not available to the public by virtue of Paragraph 3 of the Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.  Appendix A is published alongside this decision on the Council’s website via Bulletin IB/1307.  Appendices B and C can be viewed by Councillors only on the Council’s intranet version of Bulletin IB/1307. The Head of Economy and Planning has taken the decision for the Fees and Charges set out in Appendices A, B and C to be adopted by the new Crawley Building Control team and to take effect as the fees and charges for Crawley Borough Council’s Building Control function from 23 October 2025. The levels of these fees and charges are commensurate with the current fees and charges set out and calculated by Horsham District Council for Sussex Building Control in accordance with The Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010. Retaining the same levels of fees and charges as Horsham DC through Sussex Building Control is considered appropriate for business continuity reasons and to facilitate the transition to Crawley Building Control services from HDC Sussex Building Control services by builders, developers, residents and other applicants. The charges set out in Appendices A, B and C are also intended to help contribute to the cost of the establishment and maintenance of the new Crawley Building Control service. The charges have been set for the functions prescribed in Regulation 4 of the Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010, namely: • A plan charge, payable when plans of the building work are deposited with the Authority. • An inspection charge, payable on demand after the Authority carries out the first inspection in respect of which the charge is payable if not paid in advance. • A building notice charge, payable when the Building Notice is given to the Local Authority. • A regularisation charge, which is payable at the time of the application to the Authority in accordance with Regulation 21 of the Building Regulations. • Chargeable advice, payable on demand where pre-application advice exceeds 1 hour and has been agreed in advance. This charge may be discounted from a subsequent application for the work in question. Retaining the fees and charges set out in Appendices A, B and C at the same levels as Sussex Building Control will also support a smoother service transition to Crawley BC for the following reasons: • Compliance: The existing fees and charges have been calculated by the current service provider Horsham District council under Sussex Building in accordance with legal and statutory requirements. • Efficiency: Retaining the current cost saves valuable time for the new incoming Building Control team. • Benchmarking: The current fee structure provides a useful reference point for future in-house calculations of fees and charges.

Date of Decision: October 13, 2025