The Chairman introduced the
question session with Councillor Tom Hunt, the Lead Councillor for
Lead Councillor for Planning Development, Legal & Democratic
Services. The meeting was reminded of
Councillor Hunt’s specific areas of responsibility: Planning
applications; Planning enforcement; Planning integration and
improvement; Democratic and committee services; Elections;
Executive and civic support; GDPR; Information security,
governance; Legal; and Overview & Scrutiny support.
During the ensuing discussion
several points were made, and clarifications offered:
- In response to a
question alluding to the possible designation of the Council for
special measures by the government because of its poor performance
in determining planning applications on time, the Lead Councillor for Planning
Development, Legal & Democratic Services, advised the
meeting that there had been no response to date from the Department
for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities (DLUHC) to the
Council’s letter of 2 February 2023. He suggested a response was expected within 4-6
weeks’ time.
- The Lead Councillor
for Planning Development, Legal & Democratic Services, was
asked to provide an update on the plan outlined by the Interim
Executive Head of Planning Development in an email sent to
Councillors on 25 January 2023. The
Interim Executive Head of Planning Development advised that the
action plan sent to DLUHC was constantly being reviewed and added
to, and that many actions had been enacted, for example, the
approval by Council of the changes to the Member Referral
process. She indicated that eight
temporary members of staff had been recruited since mid-January
2023 to help deal with planning applications, and two further
temporary members of staff would begin in the major development
applications team soon. The Interim
Executive Head of Planning Development informed the meeting that an
Improvement Board for Planning Development was to be established,
as an Executive working group, to oversee the
improvements.
- In response to a
question about the need to prioritise the oldest planning
applications, the Lead Councillor for Planning Development, Legal
& Democratic Services, advised the Committee of measures taken
to help tackle the backlog in planning applications, including the
recruitment of additional staff. He
noted that the backlog of planning applications was partly due to
the turnover of planning officers at the Council. The Interim Executive Head of Planning Development
advised that a recruitment drive for planning officers would
commence soon.
- The meeting was
advised of a Councillor comment praising the success of the
planning enforcement team in reducing the number of enforcement
cases and dealing with new cases more swiftly.
- In reply to a
question, the Lead Councillor for Planning Development, Legal &
Democratic Services, stated that he viewed the rise in planning
applications after the Covid pandemic and the reductions and
changes in the planning team as a result of the Council’s
Future Guildford transformation programme as the point at which the
backlog in applications started. He
referred to staffing difficulties in the Council’s planning
service, including the departure of seven full time planners and
fourteen temporary members of planning staff in the period between
September 2020 and September 2022. The
Lead Councillor for Planning Development, Legal & Democratic
Services, advised the Committee of difficulties recruiting planning
officers and suggested that a critical culture and commentary
toward planning officers in the Borough was unhelpful to
recruitment.
- As evidence of
improvement, the Lead Councillor for Planning Development, Legal
& Democratic Services, advised the Committee that for October
– December 2022, seventy-two percent of non-major planning
applications were processed within the eight week target
period.
- The Interim Executive
Head of Planning Development informed the Committee that the
service aim was to clear the backlog in older planning applications
while continuing to process more recent ones. She indicated that there would be a blitz week in
March 2023 to focus on the backlog of applications. The Interim Executive Head of Planning Development
confirmed that overtime had been offered to planning officers
previously, but the intention was to not over-use it.
- In reply to a
question, and with reference to the merits of the Bosco Verticale
in Milan, the Lead Councillor for Planning Development, Legal &
Democratic Services, indicated that he did not have a set view on
the issue of a building height policy for the Borough.
- In reply to a
question about contact with applicants, the Interim Executive Head of Planning
Development confirmed that extensions of time were sought for
all householder and other minor planning applications approaching
the eight weeks completion period but providing applicants with an
explanation for each delay would be time-consuming. In response to a follow-up question, the Lead Councillor for Planning
Development, Legal & Democratic Services, reminded
Councillors that if they emailed queries and questions about
specific planning applications to the Planning Development then
officers would respond.
- The Lead Councillor
for Planning Development, Legal & Democratic Services, welcomed
the suggestion that apprenticeships be considered to help alleviate
planning staff recruitment difficulties.
The Chairman thanked the Lead
Councillor for Planning Development, Legal & Democratic
Services, and the Interim Executive Head of Planning Development
for attending and answering questions.