Michael Gove: Calderdale Council threatened with Government intervention over its "not good enough" planning performance

Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, has written to the council giving it until next month to improve.

In letter to Chief Executive of the council Robin Tuddenham, which has been shared on social media by MP for the Calder Valley Craig Whittaker, Mr Gove said if the planning department’s performance does not get better, he will have to intervene.

"I have significant concerns about the performance of a handful of local authorities including your council.

"A performance by your council of 53.7 per cent between October 2020 and September 2022 is far below the expected threshold of 70 per cent.

"This is indicative of a very poor quality service to local residents and a significant deterrent to investment in your local housing market and wider economy.

"This is not good enough, and despite some more encouraging recent data, I am therefore minded to designate Calderdale Council.”

Where a council is designated as underperforming, applicants have the option of submitting their planning applications directly to the Planning Inspectorate, who act on behalf of the Secretary of State, for determination.

Mr Gove’s letter continues: “I am prepared to give you the opportunity to demonstrate improved performance by June 2023, and I do recognise that recent data has shown improvement.

"I want to be clear, however, that I expect the performance of your planning service to exceed our performance thresholds and stay above it consistently.

"I will monitor your performance closely and if during this period your performance falls below the required threshold, I will not hesitate to use my powers to designate your council later this year.”

Sharing the letter on social media, Mr Whittaker said: “I have raised the severe delays and extremely poor service that residents and applicants received from the planning department and I’m pleased that the minister is taking the matter seriously.

"Calderdale Council is one of just a handful of councils who the minister has written to with this ultimatum.”

Calderdale Council’s Director of Regeneration and Strategy, Shelagh O’Neill, said: “Over a period of two years up to the summer of 2022, Calderdale’s performance on the speed of determination of minor planning applications fell below the standard set by the Government, although we did manage to maintain acceptable performance against the targets for speed of determination for major applications and quality of decision making for all types of application.

“Planning services across the country are under pressure and we have to balance meeting demand with resources available and recruitment and retention issues in the sector.

"The under performance reflects a snapshot in time when the planning team faced particular challenges around staffing levels and competing priorities, for example the completion of the Local Plan examination.

“The service is now in a very different place, with additional staff joining the team and investments in new IT systems to increase efficiency and capacity.

"We are therefore very confident about maintaining much higher performance as we move forward - continuing to ensure sustainable development whilst safeguarding our distinctive environment.”