A national body has told Milton Keynes Council’s planning service to ‘move forward with confidence’ to deliver on the city’s major growth proposals.
The Local Government Association’s Planning Advisory Service (PAS) has completed a review of the council’s planning function and has said that it now has the right people around the leadership table to deliver on local priorities. A review was commissioned by the council earlier in the year to help it learn past lessons and continue to improve the service it offers.
The review concluded that Milton Keynes has one of the biggest planning agendas in the country and is delivering on key projects, such as exceeding housebuilding targets at a time when many others are lagging behind. It also hailed the new management team, saying it’s ‘well respected’ and has been ‘instrumental’ in improving services.
PAS also highlighted that like most other local authorities, MKC is dealing with capacity issues in planning, and in response has launched a new planning academy to attract the best and brightest planners to come and work in one of the fastest growing cities in the UK.
MK Council recently won the prestigious ‘planning permission of the year’ award and received a special commendation for policies that address climate change.
The full review will be considered at a council meeting on 28 June.
“We welcome the outcome of the peer review which highlights the positive changes we’re making in delivering a high quality planning service. We’re working really hard to deliver well planned growth across the city that meets the needs of our communities.”