Agenda item

To note progress made with the actions on each of the Pathways (Appendix 1 to 5).

Please note that the Pathways are up to date as of 20 May 2022.

Councillor LeCount took over as Chair for this item.

He said that big changes had been made and he highlighted the following improvements: -

·         A list of major applications and where they were going.

·         Speed and quality report.

·         Appeals and which were won and lost.

·         A report from Planning Enforcement with an update of the current position.

·         S106 monies available to the Parishes.

Councillor Evans thanked the Planning Transformation Lead who authored the report, he said the data within the report related to May 2022. 

He clarified the S106 position, and said that historic data was being uploaded into the EXACOM system and a soft launch would take place in October and it would go live in November.

Members raised the following concerns: -

·         Retention of Staff – and whether the designation was making this more difficult.

·         The vacancies within the Planning department which were crucial to the running of the department.

·         The importance of exit interviews to understand issues within the department.

The Chief Executive said that exit interviews were requested and he would check the details and send information to Members after the meeting. He thought that morale was low within Planning and said that he would be collaborating with the new Director of Planning to turn this around.  He said market supplements were not currently offered but would be kept under review.

In response to Members questions Councillor Evans made the following points: -

·         It was difficult to recruit throughout the planning industry and was not specific to Uttlesford District Council (UDC).

·         Due to remote working it was easier for staff to move around and get higher salaries.

·         He agreed to raise with the new Director of Planning whether consultants could be temporarily instructed in the absence of senior officers to specifically deal with place making.

·         Quality control for applications going to the Planning Committee were being looked at by the Planning Committee Working Group (PCWG).  Councilor Evans agreed to speak to the Chair of the PCWG and report back at the next meeting.

There was discussion regarding the availability of Planning Officers for residents and the Parish Councils and the following points were made: -

·         Developers entered into a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) and were then paying for the service.

·         The number of major applications with a PPA would be circulated to Members after the meeting.

·         Statistics on response times to e-mail would be circulated.

·         It had been decided that due to limited resources major applications and S62a applications would be the main focus.

·         There were ‘frequently asked questions’ on the website to help with a number of standard queries.

·         E-mail was the preferred option for contact to the Planning Department.

The Chief Executive said that once all the posts in Planning were filled there would be the opportunity to re-introduce other services but currently the department were providing the best service with limited resources.

Councillor Gregory agreed to provide details of residents who were struggling to get a response from Planning.

CouncillorCriscione suggested that Key Performance Indicators which were looked at by the Governance, Audit and Performance Committee were extended to include how enquiries were dealt with in the Planning department and the timescales expected for responses.