Dundee City Council’s planning performance has been rated at the highest level in 11 out of 13 measures in a recent Scottish Government report.
The performance review, by the Scottish Government’s chief planner, looked at areas including up-to-date and proportionate policy and guidance, the length of time taken to make decisions on applications, early collaboration and corporate working across the council.
Alan Ross, convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee said: “We remain one of the best planning authorities in Scotland, with a strong track record of success.
“In addition to the positive report, I want to add my personal congratulations to our planning team who are doing a high-profile job sometimes under quite difficult circumstances.”
Will Dawson, convener of the council’s planning committee added: “The council’s planning function has the challenging task of walking a tightrope between ensuring that the city develops in a planned and sustained way, while trying to help communities and businesses understand the sometimes complex reasons behind the decisions we take.
“This recognition from the Scottish Government is an endorsement of the way we have been going about our business."
Among the highlights in the eighth annual review of Dundee City Council’s Planning Performance Framework were an average of 16.8 weeks to decide on major applications, compared with a Scottish average of 32.5 weeks; an average of 10.3 weeks to decide on local non-householder applications compared with a Scottish average of 10.7 weeks and joined-up service delivery across partnerships and the council thanks to sound strategic planning.
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
