Planning delivery customer charter

Our planning delivery customer charter

Introduction

Our vision is to provide an efficient and customer-focused planning service that works collaboratively to deliver sustainable growth.

This means:

  • offering pre-application advice to customers to help improve the quality of application submissions and reduce delay
  • granting permission without delay for proposals which conform with the development plan
  • discussing solutions to deliver agreed outcomes to issues which may arise for development proposals
  • where possible, we will seek as much detail for proposals as possible to give greater clarity to developments and avoid the use of conditions
  • helping the community to engage on “what works and doesn’t work” in the planning application process through a range of agreed customer consultation methods
  • providing a proactive and responsive planning enforcement service to deal with breaches of planning control when these are reported to us

This charter sets out what can be expected throughout your key interactions with the planning delivery processes.

The “customer standards” in this Charter have been developed to demonstrate how we will work with our customers to achieve our team’s vision, while fulfilling the requirement in the National Planning Policy Framework's Decision-making section (paragraphs 38 to 50) to approach decision-making in a positive and proactive way to foster the delivery of sustainable development in Central Bedfordshire.

Key interactions and customer standards

Making contact

We will:

  • be helpful and polite, and always treat you with courtesy and respect 
  • let you know who you are speaking to
  • advise you in advance if we need to transfer your call or put you on hold
  • keep standard acknowledgements (including out of office replies) up to date
  • acknowledge receipt of emails or voicemails within 3 working days
  • listen to your feedback, apologise if we get things wrong, and do our best to put things right
  • be open and honest and explain our decisions

We ask that you:

  • treat our staff with courtesy and respect, and accept that we will not tolerate rude or abusive behaviour in any form of communication
  • use our online service or communicate with us electronically whenever possible
  • quote planning reference numbers, or if this cannot be found, other details that will help us identify your query quickly

Pre-application service

We will:

  • encourage you to obtain pre-application advice wherever possible
  • confirm safe receipt, and tell you who will be dealing with your pre-application query and when we intend to respond
  • respond to pre-application inquiries at the agreed time and communication method 
  • advise you of what additional work we need from you to enable us to reach a positive conclusion for your proposals if it is possible to do so

We ask that you:

  • read and follow the guidance we make available and let us know if anything is unclear

Submission of application (validation)

We will:

  • tell you if your application is valid within 5 working days
  • tell you if additional information is needed, clarifying what information we require from you, and give you 28 days to provide that information
  • where possible, advise where you can get information to help you make your application valid (e.g. site location plan)

We ask that you:

Notification and consultation

We will:

We ask that you:

  • inform us immediately if you think we have not consulted and notified correctly for an application

Commenting on planning applications

We will:

  • advise you where you can get details of planning applications we have notified you of, and how you can comment on the application
  • advise you on making comments and issues that can or cannot be considered in reaching a decision

We ask that you:

Decision making

We will:

  • make decisions in accordance with the relevant legislation, considering and only giving weight to matters which are material and relevant
  • advise applicants or their representatives of the likely outcome and the decision mechanism (delegation or committee) as early as possible
  • consider comments submitted on planning applications when making decisions
  • make a copy of the officer’s report available on our website within 48 hours of the decision
  • aim to determine applications within statutory timeframes (e.g. 13 weeks for major, 8 weeks for others) or explain delays and provide a new timeframe
  • occasionally discuss extending the determination period, particularly if an application requires Development Management Committee consideration
  • encourage applicant-led community involvement before deciding all major applications
  • work towards making the right decision and explain it clearly in the officer report and decision notice
  • provide guidance to help understand the process and ensure cases are handled by experienced staff

We ask that you:

Enforcement

We will:

We ask that you:

Equality and diversity

We will:

  • support and encourage the use of services that meet the diverse needs of our customers in accessing information or services relevant to the planning process

We ask that you:

  • help us identify ways to improve how you access our services

Post-decision matters, performance, and reporting

We will:

  • provide information about your right to appeal a planning decision
  • report our performance against this charter on an annual basis

We ask that you:

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