Somerset County Council has hired a team of specialists to help with a backlog of more than 100 planning applications at an undisclosed cost to taxpayers.

The authority says the planning department has been struggling over recent years to keep up with demand with fewer resources, as well as retaining experienced staff.

The county council is responsible for planning applications relating to minerals, waste and the authority’s own developments such as schools and highways.
Currently there is a backlog of around 140 applications.

In an attempt to deal with the backlog the council has hired a firm of specialist consultants to deliver decisions on many of the applications that are currently being held up.

The council has said that this short-term fix is neither “sustainable or cost efficient”, but would not say how much the team of specialists were being paid for their six months of work.

According to a council spokesman this is due to “commercial confidentiality”.

The spokesman added: “Due to a backlog of key planning functions which the council has a statutory duty to deliver, the decision was taken to contract a team of specialists for a fixed term of six months in order to clear this. 
“The contact began in June and has been factored into this year’s budget.

“The department is responsible for major schools and highways projects and it is essential any backlog is cleared to avoid further potential expense, complaints or legal action on behalf of applicants and to ensure key projects are delivered on time and on budget.”

Government guidelines state that 60 per cent of mineral and waste applications are determined within 13 weeks.

A recent assessment for Somerset County Council showed that the median time period for dealing with applications was 18.7 weeks.

As a result of the delay the council has been subject to a number of appeals, including one for non-determination because the case was taking too long and has also been subject to a £600 fine after a recent Ombudsman complaint was upheld.