Excellent planning wins Government praise
Date Published : 31 March 2006
Government ministers have praised Walsall Council planners for making ‘excellent progress’ and exceeding the national standards set for planning authorities.
In a letter to the council, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Baroness Andrews congratulates the council for its performance, noting that the authority has now significantly improved its performance.
The praise follows a massive funding boost for Walsall, after the authority won more than £460,000 of Planning Delivery Grant for the coming financial year - the biggest such award to any Midlands council and the eighth highest in England.
And the council is set to receive a further £100,000 this year for improving its online planning services and hitting all 21 of the Government’s ‘e-targets’ – keeping Walsall in the top quarter of planning authorities.
Baroness Edwards wrote: “I believe your authority is making excellent progress. Please accept my congratulations on your success to date.”
In a ‘health check’ report attached to the letter, Government inspectors congratulate Walsall planners on meeting national targets of dealing with 60 per cent of major applications within 13 weeks and 65 per cent of minor applications within eight weeks.
Executive director Jamie Morris said: “Baroness Edwards’ recognition of the dramatic improvements that Walsall Council has made to our planning service in recent years is a tribute to the hard work of our planning staff.
“I am very proud of their achievement in securing our remarkable turn around in performance. This outstanding result would not have been possible without their commitment and dedication.”
The report also praises the council for improving its planning processes with the introduction of a single development control committee.
It also acknowledges that increased numbers of applications dealt with under delegated powers have made a big difference to the authority’s performance.
The streamlined system replaced district committees and 20 councillors - one from each ward – and the development control committee meets every three weeks.
The council’s improved performance has put Walsall into the top two percent of local authorities sharing the £73 million Planning Delivery Grant for the financial year 2006/2007.
Ministers gave the funding to Walsall as direct reward for the council’s performance in turning around its speed of planning application decision-making and meeting government targets for the year ending 30 June 2005.
The Planning Development Grant is shared among 408 local authorities to help them carry out their planning functions, with the worst performing councils receiving nothing.
A recent survey by the council showed that more than four out of five people who received planning decisions were satisfied with the service. Many said they are getting decisions faster than before.