- free-to-access duty planner service operational 2 days per week (Tuesday and Friday)
- automated responses to confirm receipt of ‘Planning Customer Care’ email enquiries
- recruitment has focused on specific skills/knowledge to enhance our professional knowledge base
We will:
- regularly ask our customers for feedback about our customer service
- use customer feedback to help shape the services we deliver
- ensure our staff are trained and competent to deliver our services
- ensure all staff are trained in customer service
General principles
We will:
- provide easy to follow online guidance to assist you in making a planning application, commenting on a planning application or to make use of the other services offered by the team
- always have trained staff dealing with your planning application, and make all decisions in line with the council’s constitution
- provide a detailed pre-application advice service (fees apply), and aim to respond within 21 days
- give all applicants the name and direct contact details of the specific officer dealing with your planning application
- provide you with detailed advice and 10 working days to ‘make-good’ any applications that we find are invalid on receipt
- ensure that all new valid applications are available to view online every week, together with all decisions issued during the previous week
- engage with you actively if you experience any problems with your planning application and ensure that officers are accountable for explaining decisions and responding to any concerns you raise
- respond to all enquiries submitted to planning.customercare@west-lindsey.gov.uk (this is the best way to contact the team with general questions) within 2 working days, and provide you with a named contact in the team
In addition, the planning team work closely within the council’s adopted 7-point customer service standards framework. We are proud of the service offered but are always seeking to improve this for our customers wherever possible. See the 7 standards below to see examples of how we have changed the service already, and details of further improvements we are working on right now.
accordion | Planning Team customer service standards
7-point customer service standards
Standard 1: Listen, understand and respond to our customer needs
Standard 2: Work with partners to support our customers
- weekly highways or drainage meetings with Lincolnshire County Council
- partnership meeting with Environment Agency being established
- partners involved in reviewing our pre-application advice guide
- professional planning training provided to our Members and Parish Councils
- developer and agent forums are held with the development industry
- West Lindsey District Council’s website hosts information directing customers to additional support, services and advice
Standard 3: Help customers to help themselves
- improved links to the Planning Portal (The majority of planning applications are submitted online via the Planning Portal)
- expanded and improved our range of detailed guidance and web pages
- continuing to provide the duty planner service
- delivered extensive neighbourhood planning support directly to over 40 parish areas
- dealt with 100 formal complaints received in line with the council’s procedures
- enhanced ‘self-serve’ in addition to face-to-face/telephone service options
- developed the council’s pre-application service to assists customers to front load their application and decide whether or not to proceed to the application stage
- reviewed all of our IT systems and all letters and notices issued by the team to make these easier to understand
Standard 4: Provide services to our customers which they can rely on and trust
- invited the Planning Advisory Service to undertake a Peer Review of our services
- full audit of the service, resulting in a rating of ‘substantial assurance’ (Nov 2017) for the team (findings published and promoted via press release)
- exceptional performance published by Department for Communities and Local Government
- consistent appeal outcomes published online and reported to planning committee
Standard 5: Seek and use feedback opportunities to learn, develop and grow
- this is now built into complaints review process
- compliments received in 2020 to 2021 significantly exceeded formal complaints
- very few planning service complaints (most are regarding objection to a decision)
- all officers are expected to be involved in complaints relating to their cases or work area
- officers have been, and will be, involved in delivering workshops/training to members/parish councils
- 1-2-1’s include a review of any cases going out of time (this is also reviewed by management)
- service/business plan to carefully plan and develop the team in the year ahead
Standard 6: Communicate clearly and simply
- positive reviews received for recent publications (Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) / Section 106 documents)
- communications plan for service programmed for 2018/19
- increased use of social media/press releases in 2017/18
- customer champion in team, established as a key part of their role
- General Data Protection Regulations are being incorporated providing transparency on how we use customer data
Standard 7: Treat customers fairly and respectfully
- reviewed protocols and delegations in 2017 to ensure consistency of decisions
- published guidance explaining what we can and cannot take into account in planning (training is also provided to members/parishes on this)
- increased accountability, whereby staff deal directly with comments/complaints
contact | Planning
Planning
West Lindsey District Council
Guildhall, Marshall's Yard
Gainsborough
DN21 2NA
United Kingdom