The Strategic Planning Committee of Haringey Council met on Monday 19 February 2024 to discuss the performance of the Planning and Building Control services, review the findings of a peer challenge on the Planning service, and consider updates to the Planning Protocol. The committee noted the Q3 update for Planning and Building Control, endorsed the findings of the Planning Service Peer Challenge and its associated action plan, and noted proposed changes to the Planning Protocol.

Planning and Building Control 2023/24 Q3 Update

The committee received an update on the work of the Planning and Building Control services up to December 2023. Rob Krzyszowski, Assistant Director for Planning, Building Standards and Sustainability, introduced the report. Discussions covered several cross-cutting matters, including government scrutiny of councils that frequently refuse proposals against officer advice, and the use of agency staff to manage application backlogs. The introduction of National Development Management Policies was noted as a significant change that would strengthen the development plan, which comprises the Local Plan, the London Plan, and these new national policies. The report also touched upon the government's brownfield first policy, which reiterates the long-standing national planning policy of prioritising development on brownfield sites over greenfield sites.

In the area of Development Management and Enforcement, the committee heard about a batch of appeals lost concerning telephone box replacements, which had been a source of issues including pavement clutter and anti-social behaviour. The report highlighted the increased use of Early Operational Termination of Services (EOTS) as encouraged by the government's planning skills delivery fund, aiming to ensure officers agreed on deadlines. It was noted that services with high performance figures often have higher refusal rates, and that officers would need to make judgement calls to balance these aspects. Progress was reported on tackling the backlog of applications, with the team targeting completion by April, with May as a fallback.

Under Building Control, Councillor John Bevan requested that cabinet members be involved in the creation of job profiles. The report also mentioned over sailing licences, which permit cranes to extend over neighbouring properties and fall outside the remit of the Planning and Building Control systems. The recruitment of trainees was discussed, with one new trainee performing well. The committee also acknowledged the 44 years of service of Bob McIver, Head of Building Control, at Haringey Council. The committee resolved to note the report.

Planning Service Peer Challenge: Report and Action Plan

The committee considered a report outlining the Council's response to recommendations from a Planning Service Peer Challenge conducted in October 2023. Rob Krzyszowski presented the report, which examined the Planning service's functions. A key element discussed was the Systems Thinking Approach, implemented in 2016, which aims to streamline processes from a customer's perspective and ensure efficiency. This approach assigns a single point of responsibility for a process from start to finish, leading to savings and improved customer experience, as reflected in the peer review. The committee resolved to note the content of the report, the recommendations in the Peer Challenge report (Appendix A), and the Action Plan (Appendix B). They also agreed to refer the report and appended documents to the Cabinet with a recommendation to endorse the Peer Challenge report and approve the Action Plan.

Updating the Planning Protocol

Rob Krzyszowski introduced the report detailing potential changes to the Planning Protocol, a part of the Council's Constitution. The committee discussed that the protocol itself is not the primary document for the delegation of powers, with a separate scheme of delegation being the relevant document. Delegating smaller applications to officers was recognised as good practice nationwide. The report also outlined a draft proposal for a Strategic Planning Panel, which would allow officers to present early pre-application proposals from developers to relevant cabinet members and the Chair of the Planning Sub Committee for informal presentations and questions. This was presented as a measure to enhance transparency and member input, not to predetermine outcomes. Officers indicated that relevant cabinet members, potentially including the leader, would be included. The committee was reminded of the option to conduct site visits independently if unable to attend scheduled visits with officers. Regarding the running order of meetings, the intention is to allocate more time for officer advice. For petitions, officers are working to set clear deadlines in advance of committee meetings to allow sufficient time for review and advice. The committee resolved to note the content of this report.