A new report is urging a cull of bureaucracy in the planning application process, to make it work better. Chief executive of Essex CC, Joanna Killian, and former executive of Barrat Developments, David Pretty, have published a package of practical recommendations to create a more efficient and customer-focused planning application process. Among other things, the pair have recommended that 40% of minor non-residential, mainly commercial, planning applications, such as for small-scale alterations and extensions, should be taken out of the planning system altogether, or subject to a much quicker process than at present.