Published on Tuesday 21 December 2021
Residents and developers will see continued improvements from BCP Council’s planning service, following a very successful Clearance Week earlier this month.
Clearance Week, part of the council’s ongoing Planning Improvement Journey, took place from 6-10 December. The planning service dedicated five working days to address the current backlog of applications as a priority. This dedicated week meant that all staff focused all efforts towards determining applications, but did not respond to direct enquiries, via telephone or email. More than 350 applications were determined during this time, which is a 75% increase on an average week.
All teams across the planning service played a vital role, whilst being supported by colleagues in customer services.
Last month, BCP Council’s Cabinet agreed new measures to help support its planning service, including a funding plan to invest further in the service to address the current demands and challenges in this financial year.
Councillor Philip Broadhead, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Development, Growth and Regeneration, said: "Clearance Week is one example of how we are dealing with the challenges currently facing our planning service. We have always been open and transparent on this issue and that is why we implemented our Planning Improvement Journey. This has been a really positive endeavour – with a 75% increase in planning decisions in just one week, and with 85% of those being for approval.
"We know that colleagues in planning continue to face high and increasing volumes of applications, with legacy processes and systems that are being improved and harmonised. I would like to thank everyone who played their part during this initiative. However, the work continues, as we continue to receive large volumes of applications, all while transforming processes and systems so we really can deliver change at the earliest opportunity.
"I would like to again thank residents and developers who have been patient with us. Hopefully they will see positive impacts being made by our new leadership team and ongoing efforts to improve the service. We’re rapidly creating one of the best places to live and work in the country, and we need a planning service to support this. I’ve no doubt we can deliver this with our ongoing investment and improvement programme in place."
Following its success, BCP Council will consider Clearance Week initiatives in the future.