Agenda item

To consider a report of the Head of Planning.

The Committee received a report of the Head of Planning which provided an overview of planning enforcement with the aim of illustrating the scope and role of the service.  The area of planning enforcement had been raised as an area for review during the recent Budget scrutiny process.

The report aimed to provide the committee with an understanding of the Council’s Planning Enforcement function and the current pressures on resource, and outlined how this was to be addressed in the interests of staff wellbeing, service delivery, and continued implementation of the planning transformation project.

Councillors considered the issues arising from the report and areas covered included linking in with and providing information to ward councillors and parish and town councils, out of hours case work, resource pressures within the team, the link with legal services and a specific point around caravan sites.

Decision

That the Place and Resources Scrutiny Committee:

1.         Supports the strategy for managing enforcement work and resources as set out in section 8 of the report;

2.         Recognises that the review of the enforcement policy and procedures (to be led by the planning portfolio holder) will provide a clearer understanding of future resource needs, and that there may be a subsequent requirement to secure permanent additional staff resources; and

3.         Highlights the following issues to the planning portfolio holder to consider in reviewing Dorset Council’s enforcement plan:

·         It is noted that an out of hours service is run on an ad-hoc basis and that the difficulties with this are understood.  It is noted that further work is to be undertaken in respect of this

·         The need to maintain confidentiality in respect of cases is understood

·         There needs to be an understanding of the service level to be provided and how this compares to other councils

·         There is an aspiration to deliver the best service possible and that service level needs to be determined

·         Communications are important so that it is clear that the council will taken action to enforce any infringement of planning law or regulations

·         Need to improve understanding  of different services e.g. building control and enforcement

·         Additional resource is required in this area

·         There is a need for a list of officer contacts showing responsibility for each geographical area

·         The impact of cases on the budget needs to be considered

·         Use of agency staff should be short term

·         It is noted that it is difficult to recover financial costs in most cases

·         There is a risk to officer wellbeing due to high workloads with one-fifth of the officer resource currently unavailable

·         It is important to have a single point of contact in this area where multiple teams and agencies are involved

·         It would be useful to develop a record of action plan for cases

·         Training for both Dorset Council councillors and parish and town councillors should be undertaken

·         The Enforcement Team should consider evidence provided from outside of the council where appropriate

·         Need to recognise the use of the council’s legal team in this area.