Developers submitting major planning proposals will now be expected to pay for professional pre-application advice from council planning officers.

The move, which was agreed at Monday night's cabinet meeting and will apply to plans for 10 or more dwellings or new commercial floor area of 1,000sq m or more, is expected to be self funding.

It comes as part of the Government's new 13-week target for deciding most major applications, which has seen a huge rise in requests for pre-application meetings.

The charge will mean extra resources could be provided to run the service with no extra cost falling on council tax payers.

A similar service has already been implemented on a trial basis in a handful of boroughs in London and is now set for a six month trial in Croydon, starting later this month.

The cost will be £1,000 together with officer time for a single meeting and written advice.

The free, pre-application service for householders will continue unchanged and in addition the council is planning to launch a more proactive pre-application service for small businesses funded through the LEGI project.