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Question from: County Councillor Jeremy Brignell-Thorp Subject: Planning scrutiny and enforcement
Question:
We have a major development in my ward that residents have for a long time been pressing to have a planning review carried out as there is significant concern that works have far exceeded the consents given. This concern dates back several years, with my predecessor in the ward having put in much effort even prior to me coming into post. We are told that there is insufficient officer time to deal with it.
Does the council have a plan for addressing the backlog of planning scrutiny and enforcement so that we can be sure that planning conditions are being met and developers are operating within what is actually consented.
Minutes: Response by the Cabinet Member:
I would like to thank you for your timely question on the capacity of the planning service to monitor developments as they progress through the development process to on-site construction, and to enforcing breaches of planning control generally.
Although what you have described is not a new issue, and goes back a number of years, in the short months that I have been in post I have become acutely aware of the pressures that the planning officers working in the Development Management team are facing in juggling the demands on their time between dealing with planning applications in a timely way and investigating enforcement cases.
As members will know, I have a professional background in planning and can confirm that in my considered opinion there are insufficient resources to carry on as we are without some changes in how the service operates. Not anticipating any additional resources to the Development Management team, I shall be working with the planning team over the coming months to seek to streamline and simplify the service to liberate more time focus on getting the basics right. I can confirm that this will almost certainly mean some changes which may not be universally popular as we seek to prioritise scarce resources. But rest assured we all wish to see properly controlled development and it is an ongoing priority to me.
In the meantime, if you wish to obtain further information about an ongoing planning enforcement investigation, please contact either one of the Principal Planning Officers or the Professional Lead – Planning. New planning enforcement concerns may be reported via the on-line form available on the following web-pagePlanning Enforcement - Powys County Council Such concerns are investigated and, if considered appropriate, enforcement action taken in line with the approved Planning Enforcement Policy and Procedure - Powys County Council
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