'Bombshell' as Fenland District Council's planning team will no longer be supported by Peterborough City Council

Peterborough City Council (PCC) has shed its commitment to providing planning services to Fenland District Council (FDC) in a move the smaller council described as a “bombshell”.

Since 2015, PCC had supported FDC in developing its planning policies – such as its emerging Local Plan – but this agreement ended on 31 March 2023.

The following day, PCC began a review of its own Local Plan – a document which essentially sets out a council’s planning policies for a particular area, usually with regard to new roads, businesses and housing developments.

PCC planning director Jim Newton explained at a council meeting last month that having enough staff for this was among the reasons PCC withdrew its support to FDC.

“We were effectively being paid to use our staff to do their Local Plans which meant we had no staff to do our own Local Plans,” he said.

“Those service level agreements are all ending at the end of this month so we’ll have a full complement of policy team in due course.”

But FDC portfolio holder for planning Cllr Dee Laws (Conservatives) described the change as a “bombshell” at a separate council meeting.

In an update on planning at FDC she added that this year “has been and remains very challenging not least due to at scale staff turnover” and “recruitment difficulties”.

Half of planning case officers at FDC below manager level are agency or equivalent, she continued, which has “impacted significantly on our performance on the speed of decision making”.

“Whilst we are currently meeting the national performance standards, there is a risk that by December 2023 we will not," she added.

FDC says that it was informed by PCC that it would be withdrawing its support in December 2022 after an independent review of its planning department's practices.

Mr Newton has also alluded to this, saying that the review found that the department needed to operate in a more “commercially-aware way” and ensure its objectives are achieved.

A new structure with a single head of planning at the top has already been implemented, he added, which is now being followed by the review of Peterborough’s Local Plan.

The current iteration was adopted in 2019 and runs until 2036.

Need for more employment land ‘key driver’ for review of Peterborough’s Local Plan

A “key driver” from PCC’s administration for the new version is the need to replenish Peterborough’s supply of employment land for businesses as it has virtually run out, Mr Newton said.

This was also raised as an issue during PCC’s planning meeting called to determine the outcome of an application to build a new business park at Horsey Bridge in Stanground.

Supporters of the plan said that, although the proposal contravenes elements of the current Local Plan, the need for more employment land should outweigh this.

The committee turned the plan down, though, but this has since been challenged by a trio of councillors who ‘called in’ the decision, meaning it will go to appeal.

FDC, meanwhile, is still working on its own new Local Plan with a draft version for public consultation due this summer.

In a statement on withdrawing its support for FDC’s planning services, a PCC spokesperson said: “Our agreement to provide a range of planning services for Fenland District Council ended on 31 March 2023, as specifically set out in a written agreement which both councils had signed.

“One of our main priorities moving forward is reviewing Peterborough’s Local Plan, ensuring that the city’s key development needs, including new homes and employment opportunities, can be met. We need to allocate staff for this vital role who were previously engaged in work for other councils as part of agreements.

“We are very grateful to all partner councils for the way we have been able to work together for so long and wish them every success in the future.”