The pace of development in the booming Aberdeen economy has left city council staff struggling to cope with a deluge of planning applications.
Officials have reported that the length of time it takes to process major bids vastly outstrips the national average – at about 88 weeks in the city compared to 54 elsewhere in Scotland.
Councillors have now agreed to seek help for the over-worked team by appealing to the Scottish Government and arguing the city is a “unique” case.
Delays not only slow down development work, but also impact upon the council in terms of agreements on “planning gain” financial contributions which go towards local schools and roads. The council also faces a reduction in income if it does not meet government targets.
Enterprise, strategic planning and infrastructure (ESP&I) convener Barney Crockett pointed out that in England, councils can ask for assistance of up to £200,000 from central government.
A similar plan was mooted at one point in Scotland, but has not come to fruition, the Labour councillor added.
He said: “Aberdeen is in a unique situation – the large number of major planning applications at the moment does mean that we are at a kind of disadvantage.
“It does give us some concern.
“We should be trying to look for the ability to have a funding source for major applications, that would allow us to push things forward.”
At a meeting of the ESP&I committee on Thursday, members agreed unanimously to ask senior officials to write to the Scottish Government seeking support.
Holyrood has recently increased the fees due for planning applications, but has made it clear to local authorities that there must be an improvement in the speed at which proposals are dealt with.
A report to the committee said that councils that do not show improvement could end up having to reduce the fees being charged to developers and private individuals, resulting in a drop in income for the authority’s coffers.
Daniel Lewis, development management manager at the city council, said Aberdeen “continues to be below national targets”.
He added: “It is considered that in order to address the level of performance being experienced, additional resources are required within the planning and sustainable development service.”