Council fees are a significant component of the costs associated with a development application.  In some instances the Council fee relates to use area (i.e. higher use area higher fee) with an example being Indoor Sport and Recreation uses where a fee applies for areas up to 200m2 and then from 201m2 – 1,000m2.  The additional costs for a use that is only slightly above the lower area trigger (i.e. 250m2) can be several thousand dollars.  Fortunately Council has a process whereby an Applicant can request a reduced fee via a ‘Fee for Service’ request.  Sufficient justification needs to be provided to support such a request and we have been successful in getting reduced fees on a number of recent projects using this process, saving our clients around $2,500 in some instances.  Contact us to discuss your next project on 5617 7000.