Croydon Council has boosted its efforts to crack down on unauthorised developments in the borough as part of the Mayor’s commitment to improving the planning and enforcement service.
Croydon is one of the top 50 busiest Local Planning Authorities in the country and seventh busiest in London. Planning is undergoing a major transformation programme as part of Executive Mayor Jason Perry’s plan to provide a more effective service for customers and ensure all new developments are well-designed and enhance the unique character of Croydon’s neighbourhoods.
As part of the transformation, the council has been clamping down on those who flout planning regulations and cause misery to local residents, by making planning enforcement a priority.
This has enabled the service to be more responsive and issue enforcement related Notices more swiftly – with 19 Notices issued in the last year, compared with just one Notice issued since 2020.
These enforcement Notices were to further an investigation or to remedy a breach of planning control. The council provides strict timescales for the issues to be resolved and if the deadline is not met, legal action can be taken against those breaking the planning regulation.
Croydon’s planning service is undergoing transformation having been impacted by reductions in funding in recent years, national staffing shortages and increased levels of householder applications, which has led to an applications backlog.
The council has been tackling this backlog by holding eight clearance weeks in the last year, where case officers focused solely on determining applications. By prioritising applications, the planning service has nearly halved the backlog of planning cases, meaning that it is able to give decisions to applicants more quickly.
The service is also delivering on government targets for timely decision making, with 75% of minor applications now being responded to in eight weeks and 79% of major applications decided within in 13 weeks, from May 2022 to May 2023, up from 72% and 76% the previous year.
“The service is undergoing a major transformation after being impacted by lack of investment by the previous administration.
“We are working to provide an improved service for our residents and customers and to protect the unique character of our neighbourhoods by cracking down on unauthorised developments, to ensure people play by the planning regulations and avoid unnecessary upset to neighbours.”
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
Councillor Jeet Bains, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration, added: “We have been working to make improvements to ensure the planning service continues to boost efforts to clear the application backlog to make sure residents are receiving timely decisions.”
