ON SATURDAY, the Bournemouth Echo published an article where I am quoted as saying the BCP Council planning function is “not very good” at a meeting of the Highcliffe and Walkford Parish Council.


This assertion that our service could be improved was made during a wider point about service progress and the council’s priorities for improvement.


We are clear that our aim is for BCP Council to deliver the best possible service to our residents.


Our new Big Plan sets out our aspirations for our area and our planning service will play a huge role in delivering this change.


We know where our planning service needs to be. The council’s leadership have already put in place additional resources to support the service.


A report setting out our improvement programme for planning was agreed at the cabinet in April, and I now chair the Planning Improvement Board which is overseeing the transformation to create a planning function that best serves the UK’s newest coastal city-region and emerging southern powerhouse.


We have already brought in additional staffing resource, but we absolutely recognise that recruitment and retention of permanent staff is key.


Preparations for a full recruitment drive are now under way. We already have dedicated and brilliant staff – and we need more. We want the best planners from across the UK to join us here at BCP Council.


Colleagues in planning are working incredibly hard and have faced, and overcome, challenges over recent months, particularly with the transition to working remotely during the pandemic.


I appreciate that the comment about improving the current service has been taken personally by many colleagues, which was not what I intended, and that saddens me and is in no way a reflection of the efforts of the staff that we have.


Planning colleagues are at the forefront of the improvement we have started – they know best what is needed to provide an excellent service, but we need to ensure they have access to excellent systems and support, which is the ambition of our transformation programme.


I am proud of the commitment that our planning team have shown and continue to show every day. I have every confidence that they will continue to play a dedicated and professional part in creating a bold, confident and proud BCP area.

GRAHAM FARRANT
Chief executive, BCP Council