Dear Paul,
Until October at Cambridge we didn't charge for pre-application advice, but now we do. It was decided that access/disability advice wouldn't be charged for, though for all other planning officer advice is charged for. This was because we wanted to ensure application took as much access advice as possible and you could not get access advice from phoning the duty officer (this advice is free). I felt torn by this decision, happy that I could given people free advice, but worried as I don't generate income and therefore if departmental effciencies are checked in the future my post may look uneconomical.
You should join the Eastern area of the Access Association, in our bi-monthly meetings held at Bedford, Hatfield, Cambridge and occassionally elsewhere we discuss such policies within the authorities we work for.
Yours
Mark
Access Officer
Cambridge City Council
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