Public performance reports

Planning and building standards

The Council Plan Connect, outlines our priorities and outcomes for 2022-27. Connect Outcomes should not be seen in isolation, they interact with each other and as we achieve success in one, we move closer to success in others. In delivering our vision to ‘improve the lives and prospects of everyone in South Lanarkshire’ our priorities show how our work links with our partners including our Community Planning Partners.

For daily updates, stories and what’s going on in your area, visit our information and news website South Lanarkshire View.

Each year we produce Annual Performance Spotlights which summarise how we have performed in achieving our Connect Outcomes. To complement these, we have created a suite of individual Public Performance Reports which focus on key areas of council business. This report outlines performance in relation to our planning and building standards services and how these link with the priorities and outcomes in Connect.

The future development of the South Lanarkshire area is a key responsibility for the council. We ensure that development takes place in the right place, at the appropriate time, in a sustainable way and in the best interest of the public. Planning and Building Standards achieves this by preparing and monitoring development plans, considering planning and building warrant applications and where appropriate enforcing the relevant legislation.

Supply of available land for housing – Target 5 years
What this means	This indicator shows the years’ supply of land available for new housing across South Lanarkshire.
Why this matters	One of the main responsibilities of the Planning service is to ensure that there is enough housing land available to deliver development within South Lanarkshire. Supply of land for housing should be maintained, with at least five years’ effective land being available at all times – this is our target.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	6.7 years	7.2 years	5.6 years	No
	Scotland	N/A	N/A	N/A	No
How we have performed in improving this public service	The lower figure reflects the continuing attractiveness of South Lanarkshire for private housebuilders and the successful delivery of the council’s own housebuilding programme which has led to an overall reduction in the housing land supply. However, it is above the statutory requirement for local authorities to provide a five-year supply. Work is already underway to identify new potential housing sites through the preparation of the next Local Development Plan. In addition, work on an Urban Capacity Study which will help identify sustainable brownfield sites was due to commence in 2023/24.

Number of housing units approved – No target set
What this means	This indicator identifies how many actual housing units have been granted planning permission across South Lanarkshire.
Why this matters	The development of housing is a key part of the economy and can be used as an indicator of an area’s prosperity and attractiveness. Providing new housing of the right type at the right place can encourage people to locate or stay in the area.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	1,232	1,146	978	N/A
	Scotland	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
How we have performed in improving this public service	The lower number reflects a reduced number of applications for major housing developments being received and in this respect is not an Indicator that the Planning Service can control. Notwithstanding this, the higher number of units approved in previous years that continue to be delivered should ensure that there is still a healthy and diverse housing land supply.

Planning applications approved as a percentage of total number of planning applications received – 95%
What this means	This indicator sets out the rate of approval for planning applications as a percentage of total applications received.
Why this matters	A high planning application approval rate indicates that planning officers are communicating well with planning applicants before an application is submitted and throughout the processing stage, in order to see applications through to their successful approval.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	97.8%	98.8%	98.4%	N/A
	Scotland	94.5%	94.3%	94.7%	N/A
How we have performed in improving this public service	The approval rate for Planning Applications submitted to South Lanarkshire Council remained static in 2022/23 but was notably higher than the Scottish Average. This reflects the objective to support the delivery of quality development in the appropriate places.

Major developments – average number of weeks to decision – Target 50 weeks
What this means	This indicator sets out the average time taken by the Planning service to process planning applications for major developments.
Why this matters	This indicator measures the efficiency of the council’s planning application process in processing major or national developments.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	77.4 weeks	66.3 weeks	47 weeks	Yes
	Scotland	41.3 weeks	44.6 weeks	39.5 weeks	Yes
How we have performed in improving this public service	This year saw a significant improvement in the time taken to determine major development applications and is below the target of 50 weeks although it is below the national average.

Local developments (householder) – average number of weeks to decision – Target 7 weeks
What this means	This indicator sets out the average time taken by the Planning service to process the planning applications for householder developments.
Why this matters	This indicator measures the efficiency of the council’s planning application process for minor/householder developments. The Planning service has a statutory two month period in which to deal with a local planning application.
	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
Our performance and how we compare	SLC	9.1 weeks	13.1 weeks	14 weeks	N/A
Our performance and how we compare	Scotland	8.1 weeks	8.7 weeks	8.9 weeks	N/A
How we have performed in improving this public service	The average time to determine householder applications slightly increased in 2022/23. This can in part be attributed to a significant increase in the number of these types of applications being received during the year. The trend towards the end of 2022/23 was a reduction in new applications while this period also saw some stability in terms of the number of officers within the service. This will hopefully lead to improved performance in 2023/24.

Local developments (non-householder) – average number of weeks to decision – Target 11 weeks
What this means	This indicator sets out the average time taken by the Planning service to process the planning applications for local developments (non-householder).
Why this matters	This indicator measures the efficiency of the council’s planning application process.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	18.8 weeks	23.2 weeks	27.8 weeks	No
	Scotland	12.4 weeks	10.8 weeks	11.5 weeks	No
How we have performed in improving this public service	As with householder application performance, this year saw an overall increase in the average number of weeks to determine these types of application.

Business and industry – average number of weeks to decision – Target 11 weeks
What this means	This indicator sets out the average time taken by the Planning service to process the planning applications for business and industry developments.
Why this matters	An efficient and well-functioning planning service plays an important role in facilitating sustainable economic growth and delivering high quality development in the right places.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	16.75 weeks	20.6 weeks	22.9 weeks	No
	Scotland	11.08 weeks	10.32 weeks	12 weeks	No
How we have performed in improving this public service	As with the other indicators measuring the time for processing applications during 2022/23 increased but this is a key focus of the Planning Service which should be reflected in improved performance in future years

Number of breaches of planning legislation identified/resolved – No target set
What this means	The Planning service monitors the number of breaches of planning legislation reported and the number of these cases that are resolved. Where a breach of planning legislation is identified, the Planning service will attempt to respond to this without having to take formal action - either by having the owner agree to ‘undo’ the work or by asking them to submit a retrospective application for works which can be approved.
Why this matters	The activity outlined below shows that the Planning service is using its enforcement powers to make sure that everyone stays within planning law and the conditions of their planning permission.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	320 identified 179 resolved	397 identified 201 resolved	403 identified 279 resolved	Yes
	Scotland	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
How we have performed in improving this public service	This year saw again a year-on-year increase in the number of enforcement enquiries received which is roughly twice the figure pre-pandemic. However, the number of cases resolved or closed also increased as a result of the introduction of a new process for carrying out investigations which seeks to come to a view on whether to pursue the case earlier.

Percentage of Building Warrant applications receiving initial assessment within 20 working days -Target 95%
What this means	A building warrant is a legal procedure that must be followed. This is to make sure that any proposed building work meets current building regulations. The following results show the percentage of applications assessed for compliance with building warrant regulation requirements within the 20 day target.
Why this matters	When our Building Standards service grants permission for work to be done, it issues a building warrant. This indicator shows how efficiently the Building Standards service administers the building warrant process, with the service aiming to reduce the average time it takes for customers to obtain a building warrant.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	95%	80%	91%	Yes
	Scotland	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
How we have performed in improving this public service	The figure for issuing initial assessment improved during the year although it remains below the target of 95%. Significant changes were made to the process during 2022/23 which resulted in the performance improving and it is expected this will continue into 2023/24.

Percentage of requests for completion certificates responded to within three working days - Target 95%
What this means	The certificate of completion states that the applicant has carried out work in accordance with the building warrant and approved plans. The following indicator shows the percentage of completion certificate submissions which the Building Standards service responded to within three working days.
Why this matters	This indicator shows how efficiently our Building Standards service administers the completion certificate process which includes inspection of work and acceptance of completion certificates.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	77%	45%	85%	Yes
	Scotland	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
How we have performed in improving this public service	Performance in this category has improved markedly during 2022/23 as a result of the process changes introduced during the year.

South Lanarkshire Council Local Development Plan

South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan (LDP) is a statutory plan which guides the future use of land in the area within the council’s area. During 2023 work started on the preparation of the third version (SLLDP3). The first stage involves the preparation of an Evidence Report which will inform the spatial strategy for South Lanarkshire. It will be submitted to Scottish Ministers for a Gatecheck following which preparation of the plan itself will begin. It is anticipated it will be adopted by the council towards the end of 2027.

The Evidence report involves firstly the gathering of extensive data and information covering 33 policy themes including the location of new housing and employment; addressing the principles of local living so that everyone has appropriate access to local services and facilities. The Local Development Plan will also provide the land use planning context in reaction to wider themes around health and wellbeing; sustainable / active travel and tackling the climate and nature emergencies.

At the same time, engagement will be carried out during 2024 with our partners, local communities and interest groups to understand their needs and aspirations. This reflects the key role the planning system has in improving our local communities and tackling disadvantage and promoting equality.

LDP3 will in essence be a corporate document that will draw together the council’s aims and objectives and the future strategies of council services and our partners in a spatial context. We have contributed to other strategies including the Local Transport Strategy and Local Housing Strategy.

The preparation of the first stage evidence report requires extensive collaboration with other council services. Most notably this includes working in partnership with the council’s community engagement team to help carry out meaningful engagement with local communities. This has already involved carrying out awareness raising with the four Community Planning Partnerships as well as individual community councils and local groups such as Burnhill Action Group, ONE CAN and Lanark Development Trust.

In addition, the Planning Service has engaged closely with representatives of the local Gypsy/Traveler community to better understand what engagement means to them and developing a guide on the planning system.

A comprehensive engagement strategy is nearing completion which will drive forward our ambitions to engage widely across all localities and with everyone who has an interest in improving their lives and local communities. A draft Participation Statement was the subject of consultation in summer 2023. As a result of feedback the draft document was overhauled to make it easier to read and avoid jargon and acronyms. The use of Plain English and accessibility guidance is also embedded within the work of the policy team.

Planning Performance Statistics

In addition to the above, a range of other performance results in respect of planning applications are reported to the Scottish Government on a quarterly basis by our Planning service and can be viewed on the Scottish Government website.

Resource Plans are prepared each year by all council Resources to outline the key developments they intend to take forward in the year. Performance and actions relating to economic development and regeneration can be found in the Community and Enterprise Resource Plan.

Twice a year, performance reports are presented to council committees on progress against the Resource Plans. In addition, reports detailing progress against the Council Plan Connect Outcomes are prepared. See Quarter 2 performance reports for further information.

More information on our objectives can be found in the Council Plan Connect and also the Annual Performance Spotlights.

Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) allows councils to work together, to use performance information in a way which will help understand variations, share knowledge, expertise and good practice, with a view to making improvements. For more information and links relating to this framework go to the 'Benchmarking' paragraph on the Improvement and how we compare page on our website.

The information contained within this report reflects the position based on the data available at the time of publication (March 2024).