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Sligo County Council’s
planning department has been short listed for
the 2006 Chambers of Commerce ‘Excellence In
Local Government’ Awards. Director of Services
Pat Forkan outlines the background to this
achievement, and discusses their success in
delivering a customer focused service to the
people of Sligo.
BEING SHORTLISTED FOR THE ‘EXCELLENCE IN
LOCAL GOVERNMENT’ AWARD IS GREAT NEWS FOR SLIGO
COUNTY COUNCIL’S PLANNING SECTION – CAN YOU GIVE
THE BACKGROUND TO THIS ACHIEVEMENT?
An independent customer survey was commissioned
in 2003 to examine customer satisfaction in
relation to a range of services provided by
Sligo County Council and this indicated that 30%
of those surveyed were dissatisfied with the
delivery of the planning service. This led to a
comprehensive examination of the planning system
with a view to improving customer service.
WHAT PARTICULAR AREAS DID YOU TARGET IN
THIS EXAMINATION?
The project identified 3 key areas which needed
considerable improvement: in the first place it
was apparent that 40% of all the planning
applications submitted were invalid and had to
be returned to the applicant causing significant
customer dissatisfaction. Secondly, 40% of the
valid applications required further information
requests in order to process them causing
further delays and thirdly less than 60% of the
decisions were made within the 8 week period.
To tackle these issues a number of seminars were
held with architects/agents representing the
customers and these dealt with the issues of
valid applications and proper content of
application. To assist in this area a dedicated
validation team was set up to examine each
application as it arrived at the counter and
validated there and then.
In addition the area planners have weekly
preplanning meetings to deal with the various
applications and particularly to highlight the
issues of content and design. A site assessment
panel was formed to deal with waste water
treatment.
To coordinate the movement of files through the
system an electronic tracking system was used
which ensured that all planning files were
referred for internal and external reports and
returned in good time for planners reports to be
prepared and decisions made.
WHAT IS THE END PRODUCT OF THIS PROCESS IN
TERMS OF TANGIBLE BENEFITS FOR THE CUSTOMER?
With improved communication and high quality
team work, improvements showed quickly and
results for the half year up the end of June
2006 are very encouraging - the number of
invalid applications has fallen to 1% of the
total from 40%, the number of Further
Information requests has fallen to 12.5%, 85% of
decisions are now made within 8 weeks of the
receipt of a planning application and in fact
50% of the decisions are made within 7 weeks.
Customers can now examine files in a variety of
ways either on the website, on screens in the
Council Offices or hard copy at the counter.
WHAT GENERAL ISSUES CONCERN THE PUBLIC
MOST IN RELATION TO PLANNING IN COUNTY SLIGO?
In general, what people want is fair play from
their planning authority and they have a deep
rooted desire to be dealt with in an honest and
upfront manner. The simple question which often
is asked is ‘Why can I not get planning
permission for my house or my development when
someone else can in what seems to be similar
circumstances?’ This is a fundamental issue in
relation to the delivery of a publicly accepted,
balanced planning service. Our customers may be
a young couple who just want to build a house in
a rural location, a speculative housing
developer who owns land in a town location or a
large property developer, all of whom will have
on board, as part of their team to deal with the
planning process, an Architect, a Consultant or
an Agent. Most of these will see the planning
process as an obstacle to be overcome on the
path of proceeding with a development. The
guidelines for Planning Authorities on
sustainable rural housing published by the
Minister in 2005 have certainly helped in
processing rural housing applications.
HOW WOULD YOU SUMMARISE THE ROLE OF THE
LOCAL AUTHORITY IN SHAPING THE FUTURE
DEVELOPMENT OF OUR COUNTY?
Our role in actively promoting development of a
high standard can be seen in the emergence of
new hotels, shopping centres, offices and
apartments – these are giving Sligo its
distinctive, vibrant new feel. This is matched
by public sector investment in the new Inner
Relief Road, Sligo Main Drainage Waste Water
Treatment Plant, Water Supply expansion and
broadband infrastructure, the pedestrianisation
of O’Connell St and other proposed improvements
to Sligo City Centre. There is also considerable
other public sector investments through the
I.D.A., the Health Service Executive the Sligo
Institute of Technology and St. Angela’s Third
Level College. The towns and villages around
Sligo have also experienced serious growth in
recent years, and this has also been the case in
the other main towns of Ballymote, Enniscrone
and Tubbercurry. This has breathed life into our
main towns and villages, and is reflected in the
active involvement by more young people in
community affairs. One of our main objectives in
promoting development is to facilitate active,
dynamic communities.
ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CHALLENGES
THAT LIE AHEAD FOR SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL’S
PLANNING SECTION?
It is often remarked that the greatest resource
an organisation has is its staff. Three years
ago the staff in the planning directorate earned
the coveted ‘Excellence Through People’ Award ,
and I feel we are fortunate in the planning
section in having a dedicated, professional work
force committed to delivering the highest
standards of customer service. Over the last ten
years we have developed a strong working
relationship with the design community which has
helped improve both the quality of application
and quality of design. The challenge is to
ensure that sustainable communities are
developed over the coming years which will
deliver a high quality of life which all Sligo
citizens aspire to.
Visit the Planning Services section of Sligo
County Council website at
www.sligococo.ie
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