To receive an update on the Planning Service for the Future to include details of what progress has been made with enforcement and includes SMART targets to show how the backlog will be addressed.

The Chairman of the Planning Committee, Councillor Brook, the Divisional Director of Planning, Housing and Climate Emergency, David Edmondson, and the Service Manager, Development Management, Jim Blackwell outlined the submitted report which provided an update on the Service Fit for the Future – Development Management Project and responded to questions.  The Director of Pride in Place, Alan Denby, also attended the meeting and responded to questions.

Members asked questions in relation to the following:

·                the performance report showed targets for major applications, minor applications and enforcements being below target, what action was needed to improve performance;

·                was the number of applications received reducing;

·                would the Board see more positive performance reports continuing;

·                the last two Planning Committee meetings were cancelled was this because developers were not providing information quickly enough or detailed enough;

·                the Heritage Strategy for 2021-2026 would soon be coming to an end, what impact has the Strategy had;

·                when would the extra enforcement staff be in place; and

·                what was the average planning enforcement fine and what proportion of enforcements related to developers rather than members of the public.

The following responses were provided to Members’ questions:

·                there were currently relatively low numbers of major applications which were showing as red as the Team relied on extensions of time due to the need for negotiations, amendments and re-consultation on applications and negotiations on legal agreements.  The process has been changed focusing on pre-applications and working with a new Design Review Panel resulting in better quality applications being able to be approved first time by the Planning Committee rather than having to be deferred for further information or negotiation.  The use of Power BI was enabling better quality data to be used across the Service.

·                although the number of planning applications being received had reduced it did fluctuate.  The amount of responsibility and complexity to the applicant and Officers had increased e.g. biodiversity net gain, which was why there was such a focus on the pre-application process, especially for larger developments;

·                it was expected that performance on managing planning applications would continue to improve, for processing, validation and through use of pre-application and engagement processes;

·                there was a good pipeline of applications coming forward for the Planning Committee but often through the consultation process issues were raised and need further work, applications were only taken to Committee when there was certainty over the application which reduces the chance of it getting deferred.  Quarterly meetings were held with agents with focus on the importance of the flow of information and pre-application process and getting the pathways correct;

·                the Heritage Strategy has enabled the Council to secure millions of pounds of additional funding e.g. £10m over ten years from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, £8m from levelling up for Oldway and £10m from the Town Deal and other programmes.  The Council has developed positive working relationships with the Arts Council and Historic England;

·                there has been a promotion within the current Enforcement Team, there was now two Senior Enforcement Officers and plans to appoint two new officers to support them, and an advertisement due out next week.  It was delayed as the Team wanted to see how they progressed to assess the level of support needed.  The target was to reduce the number of open cases to 450 by March 2026 depending on new cases.  Officers used a themed based approach to look at numbers with additional resources, using the revised Enforcement Policy; and

·                planning enforcement fines varied depending on the matters involved (a written response would be provided on the average fines and numbers of developers involved).

Members congratulated the Planning Team for all their hard work and welcomed the format of the Power BI reports but noted that the Council was not yet in a position to use Power BI for its quarterly performance reporting so this would continue to be done using existing software, and the performance indicators were being reviewed for the Planning Service to align with their new ways of working.

Resolved (unanimously):

1.       that the Overview and Scrutiny Board note the report and understand the trajectory of the service;

2.       that the Overview and Scrutiny Board endorse that:

a.       Officers and Members continue to maintain an effective relationship with Members of the Planning Committee, particularly the Chairman of the Planning Committee;

b.       there is a continued focus on performance management ensuring that Power BI data is monitored to inform continuous improvement;

c.        the aims of the Service Fit for the Future (SFFTF) project become business as usual; and

d.       the Director of Pride in Place, with the Divisional Director Planning, Climate Emergency and Housing continues effective staff recruitment, development of existing colleagues and retention; and

3.       that the Overview and Scrutiny Board recommends to all Councillors that they continue to work with developers and applicants in their area to encourage them to engage in the pre-application process.