Consultation on our Proposed Installations Banding Tool

Overview

As a Welsh Government body, NRW must comply with requirements set out in ‘Managing Welsh Public Money’. This requires that we fully recover the costs of the regulatory services we provide from those who use them, rather than having those services funded through general taxation.

Between October 2022 and January 2023 we consulted on new application charges for a number of regimes, including installations. We made these changes because our charges at that time did not reflect the cost of delivering our service to you. We implemented these changes to recover our costs. 

As part of that consultation, we proposed introducing four new charging bands for installation permit applications.  Feedback we received through the consultation told us that you felt that we hadn’t provided sufficient information on the four new bands and how they would apply. We committed to undertake further engagement with stakeholders with more detail before deciding whether to introduce the new banding tool.

To determine which charge band applies to an application, we have developed a banding tool. The banding tool is intended to match the charge payable more closely to the time it takes to determine each application and therefore the cost to us of providing this service. This is in contrast to the OPRA tool where applicants paid an amount based on an environmental ‘risk factor’ for the whole site.

The assessment needed to determine a variation is specific to an application. It can vary between applications made by the same site operator, and we want the charge to reflect the cost of the service provided. This won’t be a one-size-fits-all approach, but one that is flexible, to fit the individual application.

• Detailed information for 2023 Installations Banding Tool
• Appendix 1: Charge banding tool - consultation version