Place Directorate service plan for 2024 to 2025

What we do

Place delivers key services to residents including:

• the enhancement, maintenance and management of the highway, transport and rights of way networks
• our key open spaces and parks
• the regeneration of Bracknell Town Centre

The directorate provides all aspects of the planning system, including:

• the determination of planning applications 
• the setting of local planning policy, including the collection of infrastructure funding
• building control and land charges

Place also:

• delivers Public Health duties, focusing on health protection, intelligence and providing services that enhance population health and reduce inequalities.
• maintains and enhances the economic prosperity of the borough working in partnership with local businesses, other public sector bodies and investors.
• manages the council’s trees, borough ecology and biodiversity, and maintaining access to the council’s green assets, contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions in the borough.

Overall Place plan for the long term physical and economic growth of the borough. Managing, maintaining and enhancing the safe operation of the borough’s key green and physical infrastructure.​

Service context​

The directorate's focus is to create a safe, well managed and planned borough which responds to the needs of the population and grows sustainably. 

The work of the teams helps to contribute to net zero, improvements in population health and creating a successful place to live, work and relax. 

Service delivery is set against the context of reducing funding and increasing demand. The service seeks to undertake its duties in an effective and efficient way, responding to residents, businesses and the wider legislative context in which the services work.​

Current climate​

The directorate will see changes over the next year including:

• a new Assistant Director for Planning 
• new arrangements for Public Health with a new Director of Public Health for the borough with some changes to roles and responsibilities
• a new Local Plan 
• a newly adopted Economic Strategy
• the development of a new Local Transport Plan
• a new IT system which will be procured and implemented across Planning, Building Control and Transport, which will need data migration and an implementation phase
• the implementation of the Building Safety Regulator which will drive changes in Building Control, with the requirement of all officers to be registered and licenced to practice

The Office for Local Government will be monitoring the work of local authorities, with Planning, Transport and Economic Development all having key metrics that will be reported nationally. Planning will also be a focus for improvements in determining planning applications, to align with an increase in planning fees.​

The restructure of Parks and Countryside is almost complete with most posts recruited to. Over the next year Biodiversity Net Gain will become a key focus of work, along with work with the Crown Estate regarding future improvement to The Look Out.​

A planned increase in funding for road maintenance will be a focus for the Transport Engineering and Reactive Maintenance teams within Highways and Transport.​

A focus on resources needed in the planning teams with a reduction in income levels will be an area that will be explored

From April the council will be engaged in the Berkshire Prosperity Board. This will work to create improved prosperity across the Berkshire geography. The work will be led by Place.

Challenges for the service​

The following challenges exist for the service and are noted within the Place risk register:

• increased demand
• difficulties with recruitment of suitably qualified officers 
• reductions in income

New legislation and guidance will change the way in which services operate. This will create new service pressures and uncertainty. Services affected include:

• Biodiversity Net Gain - this will be fully implemented in April, but government guidance has been delayed
• Building Control - the Building Safety Regulator comes into force from the 1 April 2024, but many staff are yet to be registered and licenced to work within this regime (there is a backlog of applications)
• Planning - planning fee increases are to be linked to planning performance, with applications determined out of statutory time frames to have the fee returned to the applicant

Other challenges include:

• the implementation of a major new IT system for Planning, Building Control and Transport Development - this will require dedicated officer time to successfully implement
• changes to the structure of Public Health with a new Director will require time to bed in - this may lead to further changes over the coming year
• working across Berkshire as part of the Berkshire Prosperity Board will create new work areas and require additional resources to be dedicated to this initiative