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Search the Public Notice PortalA former council leader in Somerset has slammed delays in enforcement action against a travellers' site just outside Taunton.
Somerset Council has struggled in recent times to adequately hold developers and landowners to account through the planning enforcement process - admitting in January that it was relying on agency staff from a district council in Staffordshire to carry out much of this work.
Councillor David Fothergill, who served as leader of Somerset County Council between 2017 and 2022, used a recent full council meeting to criticise the backlog of cases and claim that parish councils in his division were being encouraged not to make additional reports.
Somerset Council has confirmed they are "in excess of 1,200" active enforcement cases on its books, and said it was bringing in additional staff and resources to address this problem.
Mr Fothergill (who represents the Monkton and North Curry division) raised his concerns when the full council met in Bridgwater on Wednesday afternoon (September 16).
He said: "There are a growing number of examples where the council is failing to take planning enforcement action - including at Stoney Ridge in Wrantage, where a development of 16 static caravans has been undertaken in spite of a previous planning refusal.
"There is considerable anxiety within the parish council, with the clerk being advised no action will be taken for up to 18 months due to significant enforcement workload.
"Can you please advise how many enforcement officers does the council employ, and what is the number of cases currently in the backlog?
"What is the waiting time for action to be taken on any case which is reported today, and what action is being taken to improve on this backlog and ensure enforcement of planning requirements?
"Finally, may I ask if all parish councils have been instructed not to approach
enforcement directly to discuss this, or is it just North Curry?"
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Councillor Mike Rigby, portfolio holder for economic development, planning and assets, responded: "There are ten officers within the enforcement team structure; there are currently 11 member of staff in total covering the service, as there are also additional agency roles in place.
"In August, the outstanding cases were in excess of 1,200.
"All requests are triaged at the point of receipt; this is usually within a week or two of being received, and this will confirm if the case is closed down or generates further investigation.
"The time for action is then dependent on the case, as our enforcement team will look to negotiate a solution in the first instance.
"The applicant has a right to apply for planning permission, and in the event of a refusal they also have a right to appeal, as they do if an enforcement notice is served.
"Appeals and legal proceedings take time out of the control of the service.
"A full review of the requirements for the service has been undertaken and a case is being progressed for further resources to support this.
"In the interim, additional agency staff have been put in place to seek to reduce the large amount of work on hand."
Regarding North Curry's specific circumstances, Mr Rigby (who represents the Lydeard division) said that this was borne out of the enforcement case against the Greenacres site on Oxen Lane - with the final injunction not being handed down by the High Court until two days after the full council meeting.
He stated: "North Curry is subject to a very controversial enforcement case that has had an interim injunction.
"An agreement was reached that there would be regular updates through the parish council, and this was to reduce the scale of correspondence and to ensure that the limited resources of the team can be utilised appropriately.
"Any enforcement concerns can be raised by reporting a breach through our website, and that applies to parish councils and members of the public."
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