Planners at the double after leap in performance

Planning teams in South Cambridgeshire have rocketed up national league tables after a surge in the number of application decisions issued within government-set targets.

Over the last nine months, decisions have been issued on 94% of major applications and 87% of non-major applications within nationally agreed timeframes – putting South Cambridgeshire District Council amongst the top performers in the country.

The climb up the table significantly improves on previous figures the Council achieved – 47% of major applications and 63% of non-major applications over a two-year rolling period up until September 2016.

Major planning applications include developments of 10 or more homes or over one hectare.

Cllr Robert Turner, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s cabinet member for planning, said: “I am really pleased with the improvement our planning team has delivered with the support of our new shared Director of Planning. The level we are now achieving puts us near the top of the national league tables but I can assure you that we are not going to rest on our laurels. Our teams have worked incredibly hard to turn things around but we know there is still a long way to go to make sure we cement what we are doing and make further improvements.

“The improvement plan we put in place has sped up the process of validating applications, improved communication with applicants, parishes and local groups and cleared the backlog of applications we once had. We would like to thank local communities for their patience as we recognise that the service we had been providing did not meet the standard we expect or they deserve.”

There are over 350 Councils who are responsible for planning decisions in England.

For more information on making a planning application and advice available in advance of submitting plans, visit www.scambs.gov.uk and click on the planning button.