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Agenda item

Interviews

·       10.00 am – Graeme Cooper & Phil Slater - Principal Planning Officers

·       10.40 am – Councillor C Renwick, DCC Portfolio Holder for Infrastructure  

and Highways, David Arnold, Assistant Director – Regulatory Services (DCC) and Justine Proudler, Planning Enforcement – Minerals and Waste (DCC).

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed the Principal Planning Officers to the Environmental Enforcement service review interviews.

 

Member’s enquired if there had been recruitment issues with their service. The Principal Planning Officer stated that their recruitment problems had primarily been due to difficulty recruiting an additional Principal Planner, as they had recently recruited 2 new Senior Planners.

 

Members enquired if an Enforcement log was kept by the officers. They confirmed this to be the case.

 

The Chair enquired if the service’s workload was so large that it was leading to failed communication. The Principal Planning Officers stated that this was a question Members should put to the Enforcement team.

 

Members felt that the team’s communication was very good, but there was a backlog they needed to get through which might be holding them back at the moment.

 

Members asked the Principal Planning Officers what they felt about Derbyshire County Council’s communication to the Council in terms of Planning applications. The Principal Planning Officers explained that Derbyshire County Council were a statutory consultee on applications, and the Council had an ongoing dialogue with them regarding applications.

 

Members asked the Principal Planning Officers if they felt there were disconnects and contradictions between Derbyshire County Council’s and the Council in terms of potentially dangerous Planning applications. The Principal Planning Officers explained that if the application included a severe risk to public safety, then Derbyshire County Council would look at the data for every area – and a meeting to discuss a case like this was recently held between Derbyshire County Council, Council Officers and Council Members. The Chair confirmed he had been present at the meeting and would discuss the details with the Senior Scrutiny Officer.

 

Members believed that the communication between the Council and Derbyshire County Council about Planning applications should continue to be investigated.

 

The Chair thanked the Principal Planning Officers for attending.

 

Members felt that an officer directly within Enforcement should be invited to attend the next meeting.

 

Members also felt that addressing the workload issues in Enforcement would be an important aspect of the final review report, and suggested adding 2 more officers and starting an Apprenticeship scheme for Planning. They also stated that the recruitment issues within Enforcement could be something to ask the HR & OD Manager about.

 

The Chair welcomed Councillor C Renwick and Justine Proudler (Development Management - Team Leader for Derbyshire County Council) to the Environmental Enforcement service review interviews.

 

Members discussed issues with existing streets and road in the District. Councillor C Renwick explained that the issues were more within the remit of road maintenance, whereas the remit she had at Derbyshire County Council was placing new roads. She added that the County Council did have a minor roads programme, which she had informed Parish Councils in the District about.

 

Councillor C Renwick informed Members of recent road work carried out by the County Council, including new road surface technology.

 

Members asked both interviewees of the difficulties they had found with Enforcement issues. Justine Proudler explained that the range of North East Derbyshire District Planning matters she got involved with was small, and the Planning authority who grants the applications are the ones who would enforce them.

 

Members enquired if County Council had a large backlog of Enforcement issues. Justine Proudler responded that the COVID pandemic period saw a record number of complaints at County Council.

 

The Chair thanked Councillor C Renwick and Justine Proudler for attending.