Westminster council is dealing with an “untenable” 236 applications per year per planning officer.
Speaking at the Westminster Property Association lunch, chairman Dan van Gelder said delays were inevitable given the huge increase in the planning workload. And he warned: “Government austerity measures are restricting our ability to work.”
The council expects to receive 13,000 applications this year, up from 10,000 in 2009. With planning posts lost over the period it means officers’ workload has increased 50%. They are now dealing with almost one planning application per working day.
“Westminster city council remains within the depths of continuing austerity, with year-on-year budget cuts and ever tightening resources leading to redundancies and pay freezes,” van Gelder told guests at the Grosvenor hotel on London’s Park Lane.
“Given the increase in applications and the reduction in staffing, each planning officer now has to deal with 236 applications per year. Westminster is striving to ensure this does not lead to delays, but let’s face facts, it will. I think we all appreciate that this is untenable.”
He said WPA and others were lobbying government to increase funding or to allow authorities to raise and retain fees from planning applications.
Van Gelder also said the WPA would lobbying Westminster to ensure the community infrastructure levy was set at a “sensible” level and to ensure the right balance was struck between office and resi development.
damian.wild@estatesgazette.com
