Decision details

Committee considered a detailed report which sought approval to recommend to Council anincrease in the hours of the current Senior Urban Design Officer post from 0.4FTE to Full Time Equivalent (FTE).  

The Senior Urban Design Officer post was a Full Time Equivalent (FTE) post currently shared with Chesterfield Borough Council (CBC).  The post holder split his time between CBC - 0.6FTE (3 days) and 0.4FTE (2 days) at Bolsover District Council (BDC).  However, CBC had indicated that they wished to dissolve the shared working arrangement and the post holder had also submitted his resignation to both councils.

Options had therefore been considered regarding how much urban design resource the Council needed to meet current service requirements and whether there was already an excess in demand for how that resource was used.  This had further been considered in the context of the Council’s own growth ambitions (and whether the resource could feed into other departmental projects), and also the clear direction of national planning policy set out in the Planning White Paper September 2020 and the recent Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill 2022. 

There was a clear ambition for better design and a greater emphasis on a master plan or design code led policy framework to steer local development, and these remained at the core of the Government’s White Paper reforms.  Therefore, a dedicated local urban design resource appointed within the Council would place the Council at the forefront of reacting to these changes and delivering these ambitions. 

The cost associated with a FTE post holder would be £57,030 per annum, which was an increase of £33,856 against the current established arrangement. 

It was recognised that although this would be a growth bid to the establishment, graphs included in the report demonstrated that with the exception of the year impacted upon by coronavirus (2020/21), the Planning Service had consistently exceed the planning fee income budget of £400,000 per annum, and the additional cost required for the new post did not impact significantly on the usual surplus generated by the Service. 

The Treasurer noted that if the full time Senior Urban Design Officer post was approved at Council, the cost would be funded from the Council’s Planning Fee Reserve as far as possible each year, before being a call on the general fund.

Moved by Councillor Sandra Peake and seconded by Councillor Deborah Watson

RECOMMENDED that the Council approve an increase in the hours of the current Senior Urban Design Officer post from 0.4FTE to Full Time Equivalent (FTE).

(Governance/Head of Paid Service)