Guildford Borough Council (GBC) has recieved a letter from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, stating there were significant concerns about their poor performance. A similar letter was also sent to Waverley Borough Counci and Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, and six other Councils.
Planning departments are required to determine at leat 70% of non-major planning applications within 8 weeks, or agree an extension. For details about the requirements, see “Improving Planning Performance” is available here
GBC performance fell significantly below requirements, only deciding 50.1% of non-major planning applications between October 2020 and September 2022.
The chief executives have until June 2023 to demonstrate improved performance, or they will be placed into special measures. This will mean that planning applications may be sent directly to the Planning Inspectorate, rather than the Local Authority.
Further details on the BBC website here and the Local Government Chronicle here.