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Question from: County Councillor Jake Berriman Subject: Planning services
Question:
Earlier this week I was approached by a lady in another ward, but familiar with my planning background, expressing her grave concerns about planning processes in Powys and questioning whether they were acting in the interests of small business and economic recovery. She wished to undertake works to a residential property to use it as shop to better serve her community struggling in a post COVID environment. But instead of freely given advice and support, she was faced by a barrage of bureaucracy and a request for £250 before anyone from planning would even speak to her. At the same time I am reminded that, on behalf of a constituent wishing to remain anonymous, I lodged an enforcement matter about an alleged breach of planning control over 5 months ago and I am yet to receive an answer as to whether development has occurred. Of course, I already know the answer but that isn’t the point. Thirty years ago, Radnorshire was amongst the best performing councils in Wales based on the speed of processing applications, but quality of service and added value also mattered greatly and of course advice was free.
Can you please advise how you view the current planning service and whether it is delivering for recovery and growth whilst protecting our natural and built assets? What are the current rates for determining planning applications expeditiously, are they good enough, and how to they compare? Are you providing sufficient resources to the planning team for it to deliver swift and effective planning and enforcement services? And what would your advice be to the lady I spoke to, should she install UPVC windows to her shop front in a prominent location in a Conservation Area and hope that no one notices and make a little income before enforcement catches up, or should she pay an excessive gateway fee to receive some simple and timely advice?
Minutes: Response by the Portfolio Holder:
For ease of reference I have repeated the questions asked: Can you please advise how you view the current planning service and whether it is delivering for recovery and growth whilst protecting our natural and built assets?
· The planning system is a development-plan led system which requires decisions on applications to be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The development plan comprises Welsh Government’s Future Wales: Towards 2040 and the Powys Local Development Plan 2018 and both these plans support recovery and growth activities whilst protecting important resources.
What are the current rates for determining planning applications expeditiously, are they good enough, and how to they compare?
· For the first quarter of 2021, Powys CC determined 87% of planning applications within the statutory time period. This rate increased to 89% in the second quarter of 2021. This compares to determination rates across other Welsh LPAs which ranged from 40-100% during Q1.
Are you providing sufficient resources to the planning team for it to deliver swift and effective planning and enforcement services?
· Over the past two years, whilst operating within the limitations of the current budget, the Planning Service has struggled to retain and recruit planning staff. This has been exacerbated by the fact that a large number of Planning Authorities in England and Wales are also desperately trying to recruit planners. This period of instability has meant that the redesigned Planning Service, which resulted from the need to make difficult budget cuts, has never being at full capacity for a sustained period of time, which would have enabled a clear response to this part of your question. I can reassure you that with the help of our communications and recruitment teams the Planning Service is continuing to try and recruit planning staff to hopefully enable the delivery of a swift and effective planning and enforcement service. An internal review of the service is currently in progress in order to identify and secure more efficient and effective ways of delivering the service within the approved budget. Additional resource requirements may arise from the review.
What would your advice be to the lady I spoke to, should she install UPVC windows to her shop front in a prominent location in a Conservation Area and hope that no one notices and make a little income before enforcement catches up, or should she pay an excessive gateway fee to receive some simple and timely advice?
· The Planning Service offers your constituent pre-planning application advice in line with the WelshGovernment legislation. The Town and Country Planning (Pre-Application Services) (Wales) Regulations 2016 required all local planning authorities in Wales to provide a statutory pre-application service. Information about the service can be found on: Pre-planning application advice - Powys County Council.
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