PAS has supported councils awarded Planning Skills Delivery Funds.
You can read about what we learned about the projects being funded and tips and tips for a successful bid in the slide deck below.
We have also produced some case studies of councils using the Planning Skills Delivery Fund.
Epsom and Ewell Council, the smallest district in Surrey with a small team, handles approximately 1,000 major, minor, and other applications annually. However, issues accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a backlog of 500 applications, with only 100 processed on time, leading to a risk of designation in January 2022 and again in January 2023. To address this, the Council secured £60,000 in mid-2023 to tackle the backlog, allocating £35,000 for tree applications and £25,000 for planning applications. This coincided with a £100,000 award from the Planning Skills Delivery Fund (PSDF) for backlog funding. The Council plans to use these funds to hire a planning consultant under an existing arrangement to handle householder applications, and will also spend on temporary staff, overtime, part-time to full-time transitions, and consultancy services for planning and tree applications.
Ashford Borough Council, in collaboration with Thanet District Council, Dover District Council, Canterbury City Council, and Folkestone & Hythe District Council, has been awarded £250,000 in skills funding for 2023/24. This combined bid by five partner Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) aims to support the early stages of the National Model Design Codes, producing an Area Wide Design Code for each LPA. The initiative plans to engage external Design Partner specialists to assist officers in analysing, preparing, and promoting better community engagement to inform the Design Codes. The goal is to pool resources and create five separate Area Wide Design Codes based on an agreed structure and style, ensuring consistency in design standards across East Kent. Toolkits will be developed to support officers and the community in future local area design code initiatives. The successful bid for the first year highlights the necessity of applying for Year 2 funding in 2024/25 to complete the Area Design Code project, with a draft plan already outlined for this further funding.
Rushcliffe Borough Council, located in the East Midlands, has been awarded £60,000 in skills funding for 2024/25 from the Planning Skills Delivery Fund (PSDF). With an out-of-date Residential Design Guide from 2009, an analogue Local Plan, and the absence of a dedicated design officer or GIS officer, the Council aims to raise design quality and provide GIS training for five officers. This funding will also support the production of an Authority-wide Design Code Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). The Council's match funding of £50,000 potentially strengthened the bid's success, combining with the £50,000 from PSDF for the Design Code. An appointed consultant consortium is leading the initiative, with community and councillor engagement already underway. Additionally, £10,000 is allocated for GIS training.