Agenda item

Recommendation: That the Panel considers the content of the draft Final Report and agrees conclusions and recommendations for inclusion.

A copy of the Draft Final Report on Planning Capacity had been circulated with the agenda.

 

Members discussed the information provided and suggested conclusions and recommendations for inclusion in the Final Report.

 

 AGREED that:

 

1.     the following conclusions were approved for inclusion in the report:

 

•    The Panel examined the findings of the quick review of Development Management carried out by the Planning Advisory Service in September 2023 and notes their recommendations to improve the speed of decision-making in line with government requirements. 

 

•    It is acknowledged that the review did not include Planning and Development Committee, Planning Enforcement or the Appeals Process and that performance of these areas can also potentially be improved. 

 

•    Middlesbrough Council currently has two Officers, based within the Environment Directorate, available to provide advice on highways and drainage and other planning powers.   There is a lack of skilled personnel in areas such as design, ecology and arboriculture.   Having to seek external advice can add delay to decision-making on planning applications.

 

•    The increase in the number of enforcement cases is of great concern to the Panel.  The two posts that support the Enforcement Officer have been vacant for a considerable length of time.  The Panel also notes that due to the current high volume of work, the timescales listed in paragraphs 2.9 and 2.10 of the planning enforcement manual will not apply for the foreseeable future.   With the limited available resources, the Council currently prioritises enforcement activities in relation to Article 4 and conservation in Linthorpe in order to protect Middlesbrough’s heritage.

 

•    The Panel is pleased to note the recent award of funding from the Government’s Planning Skills Fund that will assist in addressing the backlog in enforcement support, planning support, highways and flooding input into the planning process and also used to develop new Design Codes as required by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.

 

•    In relation to shared services it was apparent that there can be efficiencies not only with regard reduced costs but that having a larger team naturally provides more resilience and expertise.

 

2.     the following recommendations were approved for inclusion in the report:

 

•    The Council should ensure that the recommendations of the Planning Advisory Service’s Development Management Review are implemented in full to ensure that the Planning Service continues to be able to meet government performance targets in relation to decision-making. 

 

•    Implementation of the PAS recommendations in relation to the following should be prioritised and enhanced:

 

-    The Development Control Team should work together from the office in Fountains Court for a minimum of one day each week.   Practical barriers to team working, for example, “block booking” space in the shared office should be addressed without delay.

 

-    Continue to embed the Agile Planning system and recently acquired Power BI system into the DM process, make time to provide (and maintain) a practical guide to the system for case officers.

 

•    Dedicated training is provided for staff to enable them to use the relevant specialist IT systems to their full potential.

 

•    Consideration be given to inviting the Planning Advisory Service to undertake a full review of the Planning Service to include Planning and Development Committee, Planning Enforcement or the Appeals Process.

 

•    Create a new Highways Officer post within the Planning Services Structure to provide a dedicated resource and as far as possible, eliminate delay in the planning application process.

 

•    Investigate with the other Tees Valley Local Authorities whether there is potential to create a shared pool of statutory consultees who have expertise in the relevant disciplines such as highways, drainage, design, ecology and arboriculture.  

 

•    Explore with the Council’s Human Resources Service whether, in addition to current recruitment practice, there are any further opportunities to more widely promote vacant posts, such as the enforcement posts, in the Planning Service.

 

•    Give consideration to establishing a pooled enforcement team of specialist officers to work together to address all areas of enforcement that fall within the Council’s remit.  This could be particularly helpful where multiple issues of non-compliance related to the same individual or property.

 

•    In conjunction with the Council’s Digital Team review whether the information provided on the Council’s website in relation to the town’s conservation areas can be given a higher profile and/or made more user-friendly, to better inform residents who might be considering alterations to their properties and potentially reduce the numbers of enforcement cases.

 

3.    a final version of the report would be circulated to all Panel Members for any further

      amendments/comments, with final approval delegated to the Chair of the Panel.

 

4.   the final report would be submitted to Overview and Scrutiny Board for   

      consideration.