Following a recent website content review, the Planning Portal has awarded Harrogate Borough Council the status of ‘Smarter Planning Champion’.
The Planning Portal, delivered by the Department of Communities and Local Government, is the first port of call for anyone wanting to find out about the planning system in England and Wales.
Smarter Planning is a Planning Portal initiative to encourage professionals and local planning authorities to fully realise all the benefits of online working.
The aim is to provide a one-stop-shop supplying answers, services and information to anyone involved in the planning process. As the planning system evolves and modernises, the Portal will be there to guide all users through the process.
Councillor Alan Skidmore, Cabinet Member for Planning, Transport and the Economic Development, says that the council has pledged its commitment to Smarter Planning.
Councillor Alan Skidmore added: We are really pleased to have achieved this status. The hard work that has gone into the council’s revised website has paid off as this now meets the Portal’s best practice guidelines. Having so much available online does speed up the process, it is easier for everyone to access and it makes everything fully transparent.
The council’s website enables customers to:
· submit planning application
· view and comment on current planning applications with access to case documentation
· view historic application
· make a planning appeal
· report unauthorised development
· view planning policies
· find out information about the planning process including Planning Committees
Members of the public and those involved in planning professionally are encouraged to find out more by visiting www.harrogate.gov.uk/planning and www.planningportal.gov.uk/general/aboutus/smarterplanning/
