Planning for the future?

April 2023 saw the publication of a review of Jersey planning services by Jim Mackinnon CBE, a former chief planner to the Scottish Government commissioned to investigate planning applications, appeals, laws, and regulations and to report upon the speed of decision making and the quality of customer service.

The report found that recommendations made in 2006 for a ‘lighter-touch approach’ to development control did not seem to have resulted in a more pragmatic approach, observing that: "If anything, the processes and procedures have become ever more complex and, as a result, intimidating to an occasional user and frustrating to more frequent stakeholders."

It was established that: 

• Validation and registration processes were seriously dysfunctional.
• The performance target (85 per cent of pre-application enquiries to be dealt with within six weeks) had not been met since 2015.
• Decision times on applications were well below target.
• Customer service was not at the level or quality that it should be.

Developers and houseowners alike will recognise these issues and the challenges of engaging with the planning process.

The following month an action plan was issued by the government, acknowledging the issues, and accepting all of the report’s recommendations. A range of commitments were made including:

• Introducing efficient, effective, and sustainable processes for validating and registering planning applications (Q3 2023).
• Developing new application processes reflecting a rigorous evaluation of the information requirements in the draft validation matrix (Q3 2023).
• Reintroducing a duty officer service for pre-application advice (Q2 2023).
• introducing a Customer Service Charter with performance targets for registering and validating planning applications and responding to enquiries (Q4 2023).
• Publishing a further plan setting out how the Mackinnon recommendations would be actioned.

In June 2023 an Improvement Plan was published, noting that:

• A new Head of Development and Land would be taking office in September 2023.
• A Senior Regulatory Improvement Officer had begun managing and developing the Technical Support Officers.
• A Planning and Building Control Duty Officer service had been launched at La Motte Street. 
• Temporary staff support and additional training for the Technical Support Officers has been implemented.

Next month (October 2023), the development industry will be invited to take part in a series of engagement sessions related to the key actions in the Improvement Plan.

It is crucial that Jersey has a fair, effective, and efficient planning service, and so it is hoped that this engagement will be open, energetic, and collaborative in order for Mr Mackinnon's recommendations to be translated into real change.