Planning team highly commended at national awards ceremony

Wiltshire Council's planning team has received a High Commendation at the Planning Awards 2022 for its use of digital technology in planning.

The awards recognise excellence in the planning and placemaking professions, with the 2022 awards spanning 25 categories including heritage, regeneration, affordable housing, plan-making and stakeholder engagements. Winners were chosen by an expert panel from across the sector.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the team implemented new digital software to be used by the planning, building control and local land charges teams, which has helped to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. The nomination was submitted in conjunction with Arcus Global, which provided the new system.

Cllr Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning said: We are delighted that the Planning team has been recognised and highly commended for this award.

The team has worked hard to install these innovative new technologies that improve the planning process and help to streamline the experience for customers. Work to implement the system was made more difficult by the pandemic, as it was installed entirely remotely.

We recognise that there have been recent challenges around how quickly we have been able to process some of our planning applications, and while this software doesn't solve all of the issues, it does help, and it also makes it much easier for people to track the status of their application and keep up-to-date with any public comments.

As set out in our business plan, we strive to ensure our local economy is supported by a skilled workforce and being nominated for awards like this helps us to meet these goals. Congratulations to all involved.