Customer Charters for Planning Control and Enforcement Services

These Charters are intended to provide you with a clear understanding of what level of service you may expect from the Planning Control and Enforcement sections.

Customer Charter for Planning Control Service

This Charter is intended to provide you with a clear understanding of what level of service you may expect from the Planning Control section.

The Council deals with planning proposals for all developments within the County Borough area. It tries to achieve the right balance between encouraging developments which provides homes, jobs and services for the community and protecting the special features of the towns, villages and countryside.

As a Planning Department we try to encourage development which accords with the Council's policies contained within its development plan and most applications are approved.

Informal Advice

Because we want as many applications to succeed as possible we offer an informal advice service before you submit your application. We aim to reply within 15 working days.

We undertake that any informal advice which you have been given will be taken into account when a formal application is considered.

Planning Applications

We will register and acknowledge all valid planning applications within three working days of receiving them. If your application is invalid or incomplete we will tell you within two working days and give you clear guidance as to what changes you need to make.

We will publicise all planning applications by means of a notice (coloured pink) posted near the site and will write to any nearby properties likely to be directly affected. Both the Site Notice and the letter will give the name and phone number of the case officer and will give a deadline by which comments must be received (usually 21 days). We also notify the local Councillor and send a copy of the application to the Community Council.

All planning applications and plans are available for any member of the public to view at the Planning Office. We guarantee that a Duty Officer will be available during our office hours to advise customers. If the case officer is not available, an appointment will be arranged.

We undertake to deal with applications as quickly as we can and have set targets of dealing with 95% of householder and overall 70% of applications within 8 weeks.

Any letters of objection or support will be acknowledged and will be carefully considered before a decision is made on the application. We will also accept comments by e-mail. If we cannot agree with the points raised and cannot negotiate a solution, the application will be referred to the Council's Planning Committee for decision.

Decision Notices will be issued within two working days of the decision and will clearly state any conditions (together with reasons) or will give a clear reason why the application has been refused. Details of any right to appeal will be included.

We aim to provide a friendly and approachable service and will do our best to provide as much information as we can.

Complaints

Complaints Procedure - How to complain

How to Contact Us

Telephone: 01978 292017 (direct line to the Planning Control Section)

E-mail: planning@wrexham.gov.uk

Letter: Chief Planning Officer, Lambpit Street, PO Box 1290, Wrexham, LL11 1WL

Fax: 01978 292502

In person: The Planning Department is on the second floor of the Council's Lambpit Street offices. Access is available by ramp/lift. A hearing loop system is available.

Our opening hours are:

Our offices are open to visitors between 8.45am and 5.15pm Monday to Thursday and 8.45am to 4.45pm on a Friday or you can contact us by telephone between 8.30am and 5.30pm Monday to Friday.

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Customer Charter for Enforcement Service

This Charter is intended to provide you with a clear understanding of what level of service you may expect from the Planning Enforcement section.

The Planning Department carries out over 500 investigations a year, and in each case, we aim to strike the right balance between the rights of people to enjoy their property with those of their neighbours and the community to have a decent place in which to live.

About 68% of cases require a site visit, our target is to visit 80% of these within 5 working days. In nearly half of the cases we find there is no breach of planning control, and in future we intend to inform people more about what the service can and cannot deal with. We also wish to tell people of the level of service they should expect and the rights they and others have to enjoy their land without the need for planning permission.

We aim to act in the public interest and are not able to intervene in private disputes between individuals. We try to reach solutions to unauthorised activities and development rather than serving legal Notices. We want to ensure that the resulting development or use conforms with the Council's policies.

Enforcing Planning Controls

The planning enforcement system is controlled by a complicated legal framework. Quite often we are unable to control the time it takes to resolve cases. Where the deadlines are within our control, we are committed to meeting them efficiently.

All complaints will be registered, although the information will be kept confidential and not for public inspection. The complainant's identity will not be revealed. Where an anonymous complaint is received our investigations will be limited. Unless a visit reveals clear evidence of a breach of planning control the investigation will be terminated at that point.

If our investigations suggest that there may be a breach of control, we will write to the owner/occupier of the land within 10 working days. The letter will set out what appears to be wrong and the action that we intend to undertake. If there is any doubt about the facts of the case we may send a Notice requiring further information. This will specify the information needed and the time for reply. Except where there is an overriding amenity concern, we will give 28 days for the owner/occupier to respond. This may be to remedy what is wrong or apply for planning permission. We will send one reminder allowing a further 7 days to respond, and then action will be taken that is proportionate to the unauthorised activity or development.

We aim to resolve 75% of investigations within 12 weeks. This will allow for detailed negotiations, which is a requirement of the guidance published by the National Assembly for Wales. In straight forward matters we aim to resolve 40% within two weeks of receipt of the allegations. We try to keep complainants informed of our investigations.

Our overriding aim is to put matters right. The taking of legal action will only be a last resort. However if a breach is causing concern and there is no evidence that matters are being resolved by negotiation, we will not hesitate to serve Notices or in extreme cases, seek injunctions in the Courts. Whilst the efficient operation of the service is important, we need to know if we are making the right decisions. To this end, we are seeking ways to measure the quality of our decisions. This information will be used to develop further improvements to our service.

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How to Contact Us

Telephone 01978 292017 (direct line to the Planning Enforcement Section)

E-mail planning@wrexham.gov.uk

Letter Chief Planning Officer, Lambpit Street, PO Box 1290, Wrexham, LL11 1WL

Fax 01978 292502

In person The Planning Department is on the second floor of the Council's Lambpit Street offices. Access is available by ramp/lift. A hearing loop system is available.

Our opening hours are:

Monday to Thursday 8.45am to 5.15pm

Friday 8.45am to 4.45pm

Special arrangements may be made with individual officers for meetings outside these hours on request.

Planning Department, April 2002

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