At this week’s Planning Development Control & Licensing Committee meeting, Cllr Roger McCheyne welcomed figures showing once more that following changes made by the Conservative administration, Brentwood’s residents are receiving an ever-improving service in the handling of planning decisions.
Figures for 2010/11 show that residents can expect to receive a final decision for 90% of cases within eight weeks of making their application, which puts Brentwood in the top quartile of councils in the country. In addition, changes made to the management of the Enforcement team has meant that investigations of complaints received – from householders flouting planning laws to illegal incursions by travellers onto green belt – are dealt with far more effectively.
‘I wholeheartedly congratulate the whole planning team for their efforts in the last year,’ said Cllr Roger McCheyne. ‘Changes were made following advice received from our partners at Chelmsford Borough Council, who advised us on an improvement regime to bring our planning and enforcement up to scratch.
‘Staff have risen to the challenge, and our new recruits have enforced our professional approach, with the residents of Brentwood are benefitting. With extensive pre-application advice provided, as well as a lot of care taken in negotiations over large-scale developments to ensure that they are the best for Brentwood, our team work very hard indeed.'
Further improvements are being planned, both to improve efficiency and to meet the demands of the Localism agenda, which will hand more powers to the local community over planning decisions they wish to see in their area.