Agenda item

To provide an update on the findings of the May 2023 Local Government Association Planning Service peer review and to set out officers’ initial response to the suggested recommendations.

Councillor Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Finance, Development Management, and Strategic Planning, alongside Samantha Howell, Director of Highways and Transport, Nic Thomas, Director of Planning, and Pharvis Khansari, Corporate Director – Place, updated the Committee on the Planning Peer Review Report.

It was noted that although the recent years post-Covid had been a relatively difficult time in the Planning Department, it also gave officers the chance to undertake an extensive review of the Council’s planning system. As Wiltshire Council could be considered the third largest planning authority in the Country, it was important that the system was as effective and efficient as possible. As such, peer reviews were highlighted as being one of the best methods of independent scrutiny, the result of which had identified areas for improvement that had been grouped into 18 recommendations.

During the discussion, points included:

·       Officers stated that they were striving to be one of the best performing councils from a planning perspective and as such, they secured a set of very experienced panel members to undertake such a detailed review. It was highlighted that officers viewed the resulting report in a positive light as it set clear benchmarks for taking the service forward.

·       Members highlighted the backlog of application decisions to be made, resourcing issues within the Planning Team, and the number of appeals being submitted, all of which leading to increased pressure on existing staff and their workloads.

·       It was noted that the review had highlighted a number of inconsistencies across the service, many of which being significant for the Council, therefore officers were seeking to implement as many of the recommendations as possible.

·       It was confirmed that the recommendations would be dealt with as a transformation project over the next 1-2 years, overseen by a Transformation Board, and with dedicated resources to help pave the way for lasting improvements in terms of governance arrangements, planning processes, structures and staffing to deliver a greater level of customer service. It was explained that one of the first tasks for officers to complete would be to pull all the information into a work program which would allow officers to create a timetable based on each recommendation’s complexity. As such, it was noted that immediate action had already been taken with regard to officer decision making and the transparency of checks and balances when assessing decisions.

·       It was acknowledged that changes to the Committee process was one of the more challenging elements to be considered and Members were concerned that if the Committee structures were changed, it would impact on Councillors’ ability to represent their residents and they could lose the benefit of local knowledge when considering applications. Furthermore, Members were concerned as to how far some residents may need to travel if they were to make representations at an Area Planning Committee held far from their homes.

·       The current Planning Committee structure was raised, and it was highlighted that some committees cancelled many of their meetings and therefore, it was suggested that a more effective structure could be to have more agenda items per meeting which could lead to a higher level of efficiency.

·       Members raised concerns as to any changes to call-in arrangements as they felt that at times, calling in an application to a committee had led to them being improved through changes to conditions and proposals. However, it was noted that the review had found inconsistencies in what applications were being called in across the different committee areas and therefore, the recommendations had been suggested to ensure greater consistency, service delivery efficiency, and best practice throughout the County.

·       Members felt that there was, at times, a disconnect between the planning authority and its enforcement mechanisms, as a lot of enforcement measures were retrospective and therefore a more robust system was needed to ensure that conditions placed on developments were being adhered to. However, officers noted the resourcing pressures experienced in the Enforcement Team due to the scale of complaints raised alongside the number of conditions and permissions to enforce, and therefore the review recommended that Enforcement Officers worked on a priority system.

·       It was agreed that the Committee would be updated at various stages of the process to ensure the appropriate level of scrutiny throughout the project.

·       All officers involved in bringing the peer process through to the reporting stage were thanked for their hard work on assisting with the review alongside their usual workload.

At the conclusion of the discussion, it was:

Resolved:

a)    The Committee noted the findings of the Peer Review, recognising the challenges that the service faces in order to create one of the best performing planning services in the Country.

b)    The Committee noted the initial officer response to the recommendations and the efforts of officer in supporting the Peer Review process.

c)    The Committee requested that it receives updates on the process at timings to be agreed.

Councillor Bob Jones MBE departed from the meeting at 12.45pm.

Councillor Tony Jackson departed from the meeting at 12.50pm.