Issue - meetings

BCP Council receives around 1,000 written highway search enquiries each year, requiring specialist officer time to interpret statutory highway records, verify adoption status, and prepare formal written responses. The Council currently absorbs all associated costs, unlike most local authorities that operate cost?recovery charging frameworks. This places financial pressure on core budgets and creates inconsistency for customers working across authority boundaries.

This report proposes the introduction of a Highway Searches Charging Policy and accompanying Schedule of Fees and Charges, enabling the Council to recover the reasonable cost of delivering these enquiries in line with the Local Authorities (England) (Charges for Property Searches) Regulations 2008. The policy also supports improved data governance, workflow efficiency, and alignment with regional and national practice.

Options considered include:

1.    Maintaining the current unfunded model—which is financially unsustainable; or

2.    Introducing a full cost?recovery charging framework—bringing BCP in line with other councils and ensuring service resilience.

The recommended option is to adopt the charging policy and fee schedule, delegate authority for minor operational amendments, and publish the updated information.

Conclusion: Implementing the charging policy ensures legal compliance, financial sustainability, improved transparency, and continued high?quality service delivery.