THE way planning applications in Somerset are handled is changing.

In a bid to combat a backlog of bids to build in the county, Somerset Council has announced a series of measures to free up staff overseeing the process.

In recent years, the authority said it has seen a significant increase in the number of planning applications submitted and, due to staffing issues, technical issues and more.

As a result, the council said that from July 28, it was introducing a number of measures to give planning staff more time to deal with submitted plans, including:

* Asking customers, Members and applicants not to chase for updates to allow the time created to focus on decision making. Application progress can continue to be tracked online.
* Planning officers reducing attendance at events or meetings that don’t support the objective of reducing the backlog.
* Only accepting amendments to applications in limited circumstances.
* Only undertaking essential site visits.
* Applicants being given one chance post-submission to provide required information within 14 days. Full pre-application guidance remains available on our website and this needs to be followed.
* Strict adherence to the call-in criteria (when applications are brought in for committee discussion) as set out in the constitution.
* A new triage approach being introduced when applications are first received to speed up decision making.
* Planning teams having “all in” office-based days to support the above.

The steps will be in place for 12 weeks, when they will be reviewed and extended if necessary.

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“Somerset Council is aware that these measures are not ideal, but it is taking critical action now to tackle the immediate issues,” a spokesperson said. “This will allow the council to put longer-term plans in place.”

Cllr Mike Rigby, portfolio holder for economic development, planning and transportation, said: “This is an incredibly complex problem to solve, and we recognise that this critical action will impact on our residents.

“But it is necessary to bring work in progress down to a more manageable and sustainable standard and to make Somerset’s planning service a great place to work for current colleagues and prospective employees, and, most importantly, to improve our offer to our communities.

“These actions are aimed at improving our reputation with service users in the future and we ask for patience while we put these measures in place.

“It is a critical phase of a much wider programme of work to drive positive change in our service.”

Longer-term plans to improve the planning system in Somerset include:

* Building better and more productive working relationships with agents and applicants’ planning applications to Somerset Council.
* To build a consistent, effective operational management approach to enable all parts of the service to communicate effectively and using automation wherever possible to drive efficiency.
* To deliver good quality and faster service for customers.
* To create a more professionally rewarding, attractive place to work for planning staff to tackle issues around recruitment and retention.

Cllr Diogo Rodrigues (Con, Bridgwater East & Bawdrip), said the changes were “not what residents pay their council tax for”.

He went on: “Under these new measures; councillors will find it harder to call-in applications for committee decision; parish councils will struggle to get any response at all from planning officers; residents stuck in the planning backlog will be pushed back in the queue; new applications will be ‘triaged’ and prioritised, meaning longstanding cases are left to gather dust; officers will rely on Google Maps instead of site visits in many cases.”

“Only a few months ago, the same administration was looking at cutting staff from the planning department. Now, they admit the system is at breaking poit and are scrambling to avoid what their own officers have described as a ‘catastrophic event’,” Cllr Rodrigues added.

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