25 October 2006
A recent review of the planning service by an independent external agency has shown that the department is working well with committed and motivated staff. The report goes on to say that there has been a step change in performance of the service over the last two years. The service finds itself being ranked 11th in the country on the governments’ measure of speed of decision making for the most complex applications.
The review also concluded that the service carries out consultation with the community, which is more than the government requires. The service believes this is important to ensure the local community is informed.
There is still more to do and the Planning Service has put together an improvement plan to build on these solid foundations. In particular, the Council wants to improve the presentation of planning applications at the Planning Committee by using the latest technology to electronically illustrate proposals. 100% funding from a Government Grant will pay for this improvement.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet spokesperson for Environment, Tourism and Economy, Councillor David Elkin said. “The Council is very good at being self-critical. It is important to carry out these type of assessments so that we do not become complacent about our services to the public. There is always room for improvement. The Planning Service has done this and now has a clear action plan to direct the efforts to continue to build on its superb performance over the last two years”.
The Planning Service continues to offer improved services to the public. For example, all live planning applications are viewable on the website. Also the Council has recently put on its website, the data on all planning applications going back to 1948.
