Agenda item

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer updating the Board on the Planning Enforcement Service.

Referring to Minute 108 of the meeting held on 21^st April 2009, the Chief Planning Officer submitted a report updating the Board on the Planning Enforcement Service.

The following officers were in attendance and responded to Members’ queries and comments:-

Phil Crabtree, Chief Planning Officer, City Development

Martin Sellens, Head of Planning Services, City Development

Jim Wigginton, Planning Compliance Manager, City Development

In summary, specific reference was made to the following issues:-

• the importance of the department using plain English when writing to members of the public on planning issues

(The Chief Planning Officer responded  that plain English was used in correspondence, where ever possible, however from time to time technical language was unavoidable particularly with regard to legal definitions )

• the value of the ‘Key Cases report’ which commenced at the end of 2008 and the department now provides to Councillors on a two monthly basis (the next report was due at the beginning of December). Members requested that as a ‘one off’ they should be advised of all enforcement cases within their ward and the progress of each to assist them when dealing with constituents on planning issues

  (The Planning Compliance Manager responded and commented that   this would be provided through the case liaison meetings that have   been trialled and which were to be arranged with all Ward Councillors   over the coming months)

• the suggestion that officers consider introducing a simple leaflet  aimed at explaining to residents the enforcement process 

(The Head of Planning Services agreed to discuss the possibility of introducing a process map with colleagues which would also be  accessible through the Council's internet site)

• the resumption of the monitoring and enforcement of the additional controls over the display of landlords and property agent letting Boards in the Headingley/Hyde Park area now that a new direction had been issued by the Secretary of State; the original having expired in late 2007

(The Head of Planning Services responded and confirmed that this would require robust enforcement in the 2010 letting season and adequate resourcing.)

• clarification of a particular case near Otley involving garden extensions into the Green Belt which were operating contrary to planning policies
• the back log of cases, enforcement priorities and clarification as to whether the establishment level of the Compliance team of 13.5 FTE posts was adequate in relation to effectively progressing enforcement actions and how the numbers compared to other Core Cities

(The Head of Planning Services responded and confirmed that Leeds compared favourably with other Core Cities on enforcement, but that a budget deficit of £800,000 on planning fees meant the department was having to look at alternative sources of funding. They would shortly be asking Area Committees to consider pooling resources to employ a dedicated enforcement officer for their areas to provide a more proactive service that would help reduce the backlog of cases and enable issues specific to those areas to be tackled more effectively. The Chief Planning Officer confirmed that with on costs an enforcement officer would cost in the region of £40k )

• clarification as to whether there was a limit on the number of retrospective planning applications and the definition of the word ‘harm’ in this respect

(The Chief Planning Officer and the Planning Compliance Manager responded and gave a brief outline of the restrictions imposed for submitting repeat planning applications, together with the statutory and non statutory definitions of ‘harm’)

• the need for Enforcement Officers to take a more proactive role, especially in relation to those sites/buildings flagged by Elected Members e.g. Elmfield school

(The Chief Planning Officer responded and confirmed that in the case of the demolition of Elmfield school, no breech of planning control was involved and so no action could have been taken in that instance. Enforcement Officers would continue to monitor and visit sensitive sites with regular reports back to Elected Members)

• clarification if (i) cost was a consideration in taking prosecution action and (ii) if costs awarded to the Council could be disputed in relation to those prosecution cases brought before the courts

(The Planning Compliance Manager responded and confirmed that, (i) subject to determining that the evidential and public interest tests supported the action proposed, the cost of taking prosecution action was not a factor in deciding whether or not to proceed and (ii) costs awarded by the courts were subject to challenge and, if not paid, had to be recovered by the Council and so the Council may receive less than the headline figure in some cases)

• clarification of the ‘out of hours’ contingency arrangements for urgent planning matters

(The Head of Planning Services responded and outlined the current arrangements)

• the need for training to be enhanced and improved for relevant staff within the Council in planning and enforcement

(The Planning Compliance Manager and the Head of Planning Services responded and outlined that joint training had taken place involving Planning Services/Building Control/Streetscene Services and Legal Services. They accepted that more joint training could be provided in this important area)

RESOLVED –

a)  That the content of the report be noted.

b)  That this Board endorses the approach set out in Section 6.0 of the report to take forward measures to establish a clear set of priorities for taking enforcement actions and to establish a programme for dealing with the backlog of cases, utilising all available resources to assist in the process.

c)  That this Board endorses the approach being made to the Area Committees to seek funding for additional resources for planning enforcement  to address current case loads.

d)  To note the arrangements being made to extend the case liaison meetings to all Ward Councillors which would include details of all enforcement cases in progress within their wards.

(Councillor N Taggart joined the meeting at 10.30am during discussions of the above item)