To consider the submitted report in respect of the above.

The Policy Development and Decision Group considered a report which proposed that the Council should explore and establish a suitable partnership arrangement for the delivery of Development Management and Spatial Planning functions with a nearby Local Planning Authority following a recent Development Management Service Peer Review.

The Policy Development and Decision Group made the following recommendations to the Mayor:

(i)     that the Executive Head of Business Services further explore how we could work with other Local Planning Authorities in relation to the delivery of the Development Management Service to maximise value for money and improve overall resilience of the service; and

(ii)    that the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Mayor and Executive Lead for Planning, Transport and Housing and the Executive Head of Business Services, be given delegated authority to explore and establish a suitable partnership arrangement for the delivery of Development Management and Spatial Planning functions with a nearby Local Planning Authority, so that Torbay Council can drive forward, at pace, the necessary modernisation needed to achieve a more sustainable and resilient planning service.

The Mayor considered the recommendations of the Policy Development and Decision Group set out above at the meeting and his decision, together with further information is attached to these Minutes.