South Yorkshire Chambers Highlight Need For Greater Capacity In The Planning System, Following New Survey Results
In light of recent survey findings, the three South Yorkshire Chambers are highlighting the need for greater capacity and resource in the planning system.
Back in February, the business organisations launched a new poll asking firms across the region to share their experiences when it comes to submitting planning applications. Over 200 respondents gave their views here, articulating how satisfied they have been with the process in the past, identifying what improvements they would like to see prioritised going forward, and describing the impact of any delays they might have encountered.
Now available to read in full, the results of The South Yorkshire Planning Survey give assurance that the system is broadly working well for businesses, but that capacity constraints are making it slower than it ought to be. Indeed, while the vast majority of companies that filled out the questionnaire (79%) indicated they have been satisfied with the outcomes of their recent applications, more than half (62%) were dissatisfied with the amount of time that it took to get there.
Unsurprisingly then, the promptness of decision-making emerged as businesses’ clear top priority for improvement (ranking as either the number one or number two choice here for almost 2/3 firms). Emphasising the importance of this, respondents also cited a number of knock-on effects that they have encountered owing to delays with their applications, including: missed commercial opportunities; wasted investment; scaled back ambitions; and postponements in hiring new staff.
Reacting to these findings, the respective Chief Execs for all three South Yorkshire Chambers — covering Doncaster, Sheffield and Barnsley & Rotherham — issued the following joint statement:
“It is, of course, heartening to learn that most businesses that have interacted with their local planning system in recent years have enjoyed positive outcomes at the end of the process. However, it is clear that there is also a real capacity issue that needs to be tackled here, as those same firms are telling us that the decisions are taking too long to make.
“This is something that — on a national scale — our umbrella body, the British Chambers of Commerce has already been trying to address, having launched a dedicated fund that is intended to train and upskill more staff to unblock the planning system. Yet more still needs to be done.
“Government’s forthcoming reforms in this area are no doubt well-intended, and we look forward to seeing what they entail, but the lack of skilled resource remains the biggest problem bedevilling the system and it must be tackled at pace.
“Another concerning finding is that organisations are generally unaware of the various mechanisms that are available to support them throughout the planning process, whether that’s dedicated consultants, letters of support, help from the local authority’s economic impact team, or other such forms of advocacy. In fact, not a single one of these mechanisms was on the radar of more than 30% of survey respondents.
“With that in mind, we would like to remind businesses that they are not alone here and that help is readily available. If they are having trouble navigating the planning system, then we would urge them to reach out to their local chamber of commerce to discuss where they can find support.”
South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, added: “To grow our economy and create opportunity for South Yorkshire, we need the world-leading companies already based here to have the confidence to expand and invest.
“And what those businesses are telling us chimes with the findings of this survey. They need the planning system to be able to make quicker decisions.
“Our national government is committed to reforming the planning system to get Britain building again. And I’ll do everything I can to make sure that the needs of our businesses are heard in that process. Together we can build a bigger and better economy and deliver the growth and opportunity South Yorkshire deserves.”
The South Yorkshire Planning Survey was sponsored by Clear Insurance Management and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
News
About
Member Offers
Member Vacancies
Did you know? Members can submit their own news and events to be posted on our website. Log in to get started