STEPS to speed up decisions on planning applications to Lichfield District Council are set to remain in place.
The local authority had introduced a range of measures in a bid to tackle delays and a backlog of householder application cases.
A report to the council’s overview and scrutiny committee said the changes had seen it move to the top of the national performance table of more than 310 local planning authorities.
Lichfield District Council’s figures show it is achieving 100% of all household planning applications with the statutory eight-week period.
The report said:
“The trial has been successful.
“It has been received positively by both the planning team and most applicants and their agents who have embraced receiving their decisions swiftly and effectively.
“The re-imagined way of focus has also allowed officers to improve their interactions with customers and feel empowered to robustly process and conclude assessments of planning applications effectively.”
The report added that the backlog of applications had fallen from 110 at the start of the year to below 60 at the end of October.
“There have been marked improvements to the speed in processing of householder and minor planning applications.
“As it currently stands, Lichfield District Council still ranks 1st across all 312 local planning authorities in the UK for its householder performance.”
The report will be discussed at the overview and scrutiny committee meeting on 18th November.
