Agenda item

This report presents Members with a recently submitted scrutiny topic on E-Planning Facilities (Annex A refers).

The topic was submitted by Councillor Wiseman, who will be at today’s meeting to speak to her proposals as to why this should be reviewed.

Members received a report which presented them with information on E-Planning Facilities.

Councillor Wiseman attended the meeting as the Member who had submitted the topic for review. She explained to Members her reasons for why she felt the topic was important namely that;

·        Although some Parish Councils could use internet access for some it, caused upheaval.

·        Planning applications could often be more contentious in villages and were made more so if residents could not have access to plans.

·        That perhaps the Council could set a charge for paper copies of Officers and Developers plans, in order for those without the Internet or access to a computer to be able to examine them.

In response to comments raised by Keith Marquis and Councillor Wiseman, Officers informed the Committee that in their opinion, E-Planning was work in progress. They added that those involved in planning had been informed about how major applications would continue to be sent out on paper from June, but that smaller applications would only be available electronically. They suggested that if Members wished, they would inform Parish Councils and interested parties that these changes would not be made until October 2012. It was noted that some Parish Councils did not have equipment to access plans online, and that one model did not suit all.

However, Members were informed that steps were being taken to improve access, such as encouraging developers to produce smaller plans so that they were easier to view online and be printed if necessary.

Some Members raised a number of concerns such as;

·        Logistical problems, i.e. that some public libraries could not provide space for large plans to be accessed.

·        That some residents and Parish Councillors who wished to see the plans were not happy using IT.

·        That most people were in favour of E-Planning but needed further support such as training and help understanding how the system worked.

·        Where would the equipment needed by Parish Councils to view applications be stored?

Further to these comments, it was also noted that Parish Council budgets were in the process of being set, and would be finalised in November. If equipment, such as laptops and projectors needed to be purchased then time was of the essence and should be taken into consideration if it was decided to progress the proposed scrutiny topic to review.

In response to comments raised by Members, Officers provided more detail to the Committee about the problems that had been encountered earlier in the year. Members were informed that delays had taken place due to a number of factors such as; an unexpected increase in planning applications, and a restructure which had led to reductions in the numbers of staff, in particular those who had inputted this information on to the Planning Portal website.

It was reported that a number of Council staff had been redeployed and a person would be appointed specifically to deal with the backlog of planning documents. Members were also informed that Council Officers had worked extremely hard to clear delays that had affected applications, and had put forward suggestions as to how the process of dealing with planning applications could be improved.

Some Members felt that a scrutiny review did not need to take place, as they felt that some Parish Councils did not want to have to pay for the additional equipment that would be needed in order to view planning applications online. They also suggested it could be advantageous for Officers to be prompted, in order to speed up performance.

Members felt that a review into E-Planning Facilities was important, in particular examination into how processes were happening. Additionally, it was felt that Members could help form proposals on how the e-planning facility could be improved. They agreed to establish a Task Group of three Members to investigate this further.

RESOLVED:       (i)      That the report be noted.

(ii)      That a Task Group be formed to investigate the topic.

(iii)     That the membership of the Task Group be comprised of Councillors Levene, Runciman and Watt.

REASON:           In order to progress the review