Research has revealed only a third of councils provide a good or very good service for residents objecting to planning applications…
A new survey has revealed shortfalls in the online planning objection process. Public sector ICT representative body Socitm found only a third of councils provide a good or very good service.
Most of the problems appear to stem from poor integration of third party software into websites. This, Socitm said, was affecting the quality of the customer journey.
The report, ‘Better Connected’, stated: “Very few councils customise the implementation of the planning system, even in the simplest of ways, and this seriously affects the customer experience.
“Many were let down, for example, by the restrictions of the search function within the planning system.”
Concerns were also raised about the lack of information provided over the scope of what planning officers are legally allowed to consider when deciding or making recommendations.
Additionally, the survey found almost no council provided information that could help complainants at the point of completing the comments form.
Other criticisms included the use of maps by councils. This, Socitm said, slowed the process and were often deemed unusable.
Also highlighted was the amount of jargon still being used on planning pages, although this has reduced.
Socitm warned there was a lack of understanding over the wording on some sites, which failed to make it clear councils would publish names and addresses—even if they stated they would not display personal data.
Socitm said: “Most members of the public will not be able to differentiate between ‘personal data’ (meaning e-mail address, phone number etc) and their name and address which is not considered personal data for planning purposes.”
Among the councils commended for showing good practice were Eden, Edinburgh, Flintshire, Preston, Rushmoor, Southampton and West Berkshire.
