£1.3 million boost for local planning service

Lichfield District Council 's cabinet has agreed plans to restructure its development management service which will see an extra £1.3 million investment over the next five years.

The budget increase will see the planning department receive an extra £1.13 million between 2021 and 2026 in order to improve services to residents.

This will allow the service to be reorganised and build extra capacity, including additional training and creating new roles to meet a significant increase in demand.

Councillor Angela Lax (pictured), Cabinet Member responsible for Development Management, said: “Our development management team has been dealing with a 26 percent increase in its workload over the past year, which has resulted in some delays and complaints from residents and developers.

“Bringing in a new structure and posts should relieve much of the pressure on the team. It will also make sure we have the experience in-house to deal with upcoming major planning applications.

“We are confident the changes will lead to faster processing times and better customer service, which should boost overall satisfaction with the service. ”

To see the full report go to www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/septembercabinet.