Issue - meetings

Decision:

1.    That a supplementary budget for this financial year 2022-23 for the Development Management service of £465,400 and £15,800 for the Customer Case and Parking Service to provide additional resources and support to address the back log of planning applications and ensure the delivery of a robust service, be approved.

2.    That additional funding for the next financial year 2023-24 for the Development Management service of £387,700 and £100,420 for the Customer Case and Parking Service to provide additional resources and support, be approved.

Reason(s):

To ensure the return to a robust and customer focused Development Management function and to ensure that we can meet Key Performance Indicators and reduce the threat of Designation.

Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:

None.

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None.

The Executive noted that the Council had seen an unprecedented number of planning applications submitted during the past two years.  This, combined with the effects of the pandemic and the loss of several key staff members, had left the organisation in a position where a significant backlog of applications had built up affecting performance and customer service.

The Executive considered a report that set out a series of mitigations to address the backlog undertaken to date and which proposed a supplementary budget to support several short-term measures to bolster performance and secure longer-term support to ensure that performance returned to pre-pandemic levels. To achieve this there was a requirement to increase the number of establishment roles within the Development Management and Customer Case and Parking services, where key validation tasks were carried out when planning applications were first received. The Lead Councillor for Development Management introduced the report.

The measures set out in the report were considered essential to address the impact on the service over the past two years to improve performance and efficiency and to establish a robust and customer focused service that met all key indicators and reduced the threat of designation.

The Executive agreed that customer service and communications with applicants needed to be improved. Consequently, the Executive

RESOLVED:

(1)       That a supplementary budget for the 2022-23 financial year for the Development Management service of £465,400 and £15,800 for the Customer Case and Parking Service to provide additional resources and support to address the back log of planning applications and ensure the delivery of a robust service, be approved.

(2)       That additional funding for the 2023-24 financial year for the Development Management service of £387,700 and £100,420 for the Customer Case and Parking Service to provide additional resources and support, be approved.

Reasons:

To ensure the return to a robust and customer focused Development Management function and to ensure that we can meet Key Performance Indicators and reduce the threat of Designation.