Planning peer challenge 2024

1.1 This report presents the findings of a peer challenge of the planning service at Gateshead Council. The peer challenge was organised at the request of the council by the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) and Local Government Association (LGA), it was undertaken on site between the 19 March and 21 March 2024.

1.2 Gateshead Council's members and officers involved with the Planning Service have strong and constructive working relationships. Members are very supportive of the service and its staff at all levels and this is visible from their day to day interactions and engagement, as well as through the Planning Committee.

1.3 Officers have a clear commitment to digital working, and a great deal of effort and energy is going into how to make the service more accessible, both for public and council users.

1.4 The service is dealing with a huge amount across a wide range of projects. Staff at all levels recognise there are many opportunities which the council could take advantage of and are actively exploring new ideas including piloting with DLUHC.

1.5 However, the peer team did not get a sense of the overall strategy that the service is working towards, nor the explicit links between the current and future Local Plan and the council's overall Corporate Strategy. Stakeholders felt the current Local Plan is out of date and have increasing expectations for the new Local Plan, which the council's Local Development Scheme (LDS) states is due for adoption in Spring 2027. This means there is a period of uncertainty between the old and new plans. The Corporate Plan does make a clear reference to the Local Plan as a key supporting place-based strategy, but more work will need to be done to help see where the Planning Service fits into the council's overall objectives, including how the service will help the council to achieve its ambitions for Gateshead.

1.6 Although there is a prioritised list of projects, this does not seem to be widely talked about, and it is not clear how major projects, regeneration projects and ambitions join up. This lack of clarity makes it difficult to see how, or if, the service's capacity can deliver all of these without radical prioritisation. Bringing greater clarity will allow the council's intentions to be matched to its resources. A focus on some quick and deliverable wins would build confidence in the development industry.

1.7 Overall, it feels as if the council is waiting for significant changes to happen. The Chief Executive is leaving the council after the May 2024 local elections. The Director is leaving the council in March 2024. The deeper devolution deal has been signed with the new North East Combined Authority (NECA). The Planning Service is at an early stage of the new Local Plan. Despite these factors work could begin now to shape key proposals for the Local Plan and for officers to make firm recommendations on what they think is the best strategy to the council's officer and political leadership.

1.8 Deliverability on brownfield sites in Gateshead is extremely challenging due to the volume of brownfield sites which have substantial contamination issues and the values that can be achieved in the private market, meaning that the viability at a wide range of locations is marginal, and in some cases is highly unlikely without substantial public sector support.

1.9 The council's commitment to shaping high quality projects and planning applications is commendable and is a reflection of the amount of resource that the service gives to determining planning applications. However, this is also a disadvantage, because such an approach consumes a lot of staff capacity, and results in the overall application process being slow. It is not uncommon for there to be criticism about the speed of any Planning Service, but developers in Gateshead expressed frustration about the pace of applications relative to other councils. This was described by developers as 'Great intent, too slow', although the work of "diligent officers who are thorough and proactive" was noted. Some staff recognise the speed of the process as being too lengthy and the need to come to a decision earlier in the process as well as be more decisive earlier in the process on certain applications.

1.10 There is clear pride in Gateshead the place and in the council. Councillors, staff, residents and developers want to do the best they can for the borough and its residents. However, in achieving the best, the council will need to articulate what that best means. It will need to balance the tensions arising between net population decline, the lack of affordable and available housing to rent and buy, job creation and economic growth, and how addressing these will impact on the borough's appearance and land use, particularly for its rural areas and green spaces. All of this needs to be reflected in the new Local Plan, and matched to the council's resources and the council's appetite for risk and inward investment.