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Local Development Order Aylesbury Vale won a Gold award at the iESE Awards for introducing an innovative way of speeding up the planning process for householders while saving the council money. The householder extension Local Development Order (LDO) is available to householders who would normally have to apply for planning permission for an extension deemed straight-forward and low impact. It extends permitted development rights to most single, first floor and two storey rear and single storey side extensions on a detached or semi-detached house. AVDC is one of the first councils to introduce the order, which gives homeowners responsibility for ensuring the necessary planning guidelines are met. Applicants also have to inform neighbours of their plans before coming to the council. The main advantage is that the planning process will only take around two weeks, compared to up to eight weeks previously, and, as long as the process is followed, it guarantees a ‘yes'. AVDC normally process around 1,000 householder applications per year, the overwhelming majority of these (about 90% ) are permitted and delegated to officers, generally without amendment and where they comply with published guidance on extensions. The introduction of the Householder Extension LDO means that less time will be spent by officers on the planning process, saving the council money. Susan Kitchen, development control manager, said: ‘The LDO, alongside other system and performance improvements, will help us to make savings in development management and provide an improved service for the customer. Our aim is for the planning service to become cost-neutral to the council as it addresses the challenges of central government grant reductions.' The Gateway Aylesbury Vale has taken a step outside its comfort zone by looking to generate income through its purpose built state-of-the-art conference and event facilities. In 2012, AVDC completed work on its new conference centre, The Gateway, which sits within the council's offices. It features five unique spaces available to hire with in-house catering and audio-visual systems throughout. The Gateway development, which faced fierce criticism in the local media, enabled the council to bring its staff together in one venue, freeing up space within Aylesbury town centre for redevelopment and resulting in considerable savings on maintenance and running costs. AVDC's property services and facilities manager, Jane Heywood, commented: ‘The response we are receiving from our users, alongside the repeat bookings, shows that we are succeeding in our goal to provide a new channel for generating income for the council.' Since opening, around 35,000 delegates have used the Gateway conference facilities. This represents around 12,512 hours of conference room usage, and has generated income of around £200,000 through room hire. Clients include Lidl, Waitrose, Barton and Wilmore and Cross Roads Care.

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FINANCE

Now we mean business - case studies

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