Large planning applications to get boost from ATLAS

7 March 2006

A team set up to help local authorities improve quality and speed up delivery of large planning applications is to expand because of increasing demand for its services. ATLAS (the Advisory Team for Large Applications) is run by national regeneration agency, English Partnerships, and is part of the government’s Planning Advisory Service (PAS).

Established 15 months ago to provide an advisory service and ‘sounding board’ for local authorities who were wrestling with difficult or complex applications (featuring more than 500 homes), the four-man team has so far worked on 18 projects with potential to unlock more than 30,000 homes across London and the South East. The team’s success in resolving planning issues coupled with the positive feedback received from local authorities and developers has underpinned the ODPM’s (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) decision to expand the service.

Jerome Frost, Head of English Partnerships’ National Consultancy Unit, which hosts ATLAS said, “English Partnerships is delighted with the rapid progress made by the team. Its success and the subsequent increased demand for its services is testament to the hard work and commitment of everyone in the team and the local authorities and applicants with whom they are working. ATLAS is becoming a model example of public sector partnership working in action.”

Simon Leask, ATLAS Team Leader says that the team’s expansion will lead to some excellent job opportunities. “Our expansion will provide a great chance for planning professionals who have exceptional skills and flair to make a difference to the delivery of quality developments across the country and have an impact in shaping the future of the planning system.”

The team is likely to expand to around a dozen, including professional and support staff, and increase its geographic coverage further into the east to tackle growth points in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Later on the South West of England will be covered.

In January this year, ATLAS published a research report* that promoted the use of Planning Delivery Agreements (PDAs) – a more structured method of local authorities and developers working together to achieve high quality results. PDAs are now being incorporated into a series of national pilot projects being run by PAS on behalf of ODPM intended to improve and speed up the planning process on large applications. The ATLAS team expansion will create increased capacity for other research and dissemination activities to be implemented.

ATLAS will begin its recruitment drive immediately with the first new members of the team in place by May 2006.

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