Management Information Sheet
Prioritisation of Planning Applications
There is currently a large backlog of outstanding Children's Services and schools' planning applications being dealt with by the County Council's Development Control Team. In addition there are a significant number of new applications to be submitted over the coming months, many of which have funding deadlines.
In order to deal with this a number of steps have been taken:
New staff have been recruited to the Development Control Team to deal exclusively with Children's Services and schools' applications
All planning applications submitted by Children's Services or schools have been placed in an order of priority for attention by planners.
Prioritisation
The highest priority in dealing with applications is being given to those where funding will be lost if not spent by March 2011. Inevitably this has meant that most school-led projects, where there is no critical risk for the loss of funding, have been given a lower priority.
It is not possible at this time to give a timescale for determination of lower priority applications. Development Control have advised that they will be in a position to do this after April, when further new staff are in post and have started to deal with applications.
Implications
We are asking schools to advise their agents not to contact Development Control on the progress of individual applications as dealing with such enquiries will delay the determination process further. We recognise that this procedure will mean delays in some instances to schools' and Children's Services' service priorities.
If your school currently has a planning application awaiting determination and you can provide evidence that funding will be lost if determination is not made within the next 3 months, we would ask you to contact Children's Services' Planning and Buildings Section rather than the Development Control Team.
The contact is Jackie Hayman, tel: 01603-222990; e-mail: jacqueline.hayman@norfolk.gov.uk.
Paul Fisher
Assistant Director (Resources & Efficiency)
In order to deal with this a number of steps have been taken:
New staff have been recruited to the Development Control Team to deal exclusively with Children's Services and schools' applications
All planning applications submitted by Children's Services or schools have been placed in an order of priority for attention by planners.
Prioritisation
The highest priority in dealing with applications is being given to those where funding will be lost if not spent by March 2011. Inevitably this has meant that most school-led projects, where there is no critical risk for the loss of funding, have been given a lower priority.
It is not possible at this time to give a timescale for determination of lower priority applications. Development Control have advised that they will be in a position to do this after April, when further new staff are in post and have started to deal with applications.
Implications
We are asking schools to advise their agents not to contact Development Control on the progress of individual applications as dealing with such enquiries will delay the determination process further. We recognise that this procedure will mean delays in some instances to schools' and Children's Services' service priorities.
If your school currently has a planning application awaiting determination and you can provide evidence that funding will be lost if determination is not made within the next 3 months, we would ask you to contact Children's Services' Planning and Buildings Section rather than the Development Control Team.
The contact is Jackie Hayman, tel: 01603-222990; e-mail: jacqueline.hayman@norfolk.gov.uk.
Paul Fisher
Assistant Director (Resources & Efficiency)