Planning Activity in the Chosen Local Authority Area, Research Paper Example

In the government of London, the government is organized into two tiers; a city-wide tier and a local tier. The city-wide tier is organized by the Greater London Authority and the local tiers are carried out by individual authorities according to London borough (Gateways, n.d.). The Southwark Council is made up of 21 wards, each of which elect 3 councilors, which makes a total of 23 councilors. The councilors are responsible for determining policies, service levels, and how money is spent (Southwark Council, n.d.). The Labour party currently holds 34 seats, the Liberal Democrats hold 25 seats, the Conservatives hold 3 seats, and the Independents hold 1 seat.

The head of the council is Peter John of the Labour party who is responsible for heading a cabinet. The council is comprised of five departments including the Chief Executive’s Department headed by Eleanor Kelly, which is responsible for HR, corporate strategy, regeneration and planning, the Department of Children’s and Adult’s Services which is responsible for adult social care, children’s social care, education, and strategy and commissioning and is headed by Romi Brown, the Department of Environment and Leisure is headed by Deborah Collins and is responsible for the public realm, sustainable services, community safety, libraries, culture, learning and leisure, the Department of Housing and Community Services is headed by Gerri Scott and is responsible for customer experience, major works, area management, community engagement, maintenance and compliance, home ownership and tenant management initiatives, and the Department of Finance and Corporate Services is headed by Duncan Whitfield and is responsible for revenue and benefits, legal services, finance, facilities management, and information and data services (Southwark Council, n.d.). Each department is responsible for several committees that are related to their functions.

The cabinet group responsible for planning and regeneration is the Chief Executive’s Department, which is headed by Eleanor Kelly, the Chief Executive. The chair of the individual committee is Nick Dolezal and the vice chair of the committee is Darren Merrill. The other members of the committee include Councillor Mark Gettleson, Councillor Rebecca Lury, Councillor Adele Morris, Councillor Nick Stanton, and Councillor Mark Williams. Committee reserve members include Councillor Kevin Ahern, Councillor James Barber, Councillor Catherine Bowman, Councillor Chris Brown, and Councillor Martin Seaton. The. These meetings fit into the framework of responsibility of the committee because they review expenditure of funds secured through legal agreements under the Town and Country Planning Act of 1990 and review planning applications, which requires them to meet regularly.

Meetings

• 4 Feb 2014 7.00 pm
• 14 Jan 2014 7.00 pm
• 17 Dec 2013
• 3 Dec 2013 7.00 pm- CANCELLED
• 19 Nov 2013 7.00 pm- CANCELLED
• 5 Nov 2013 7.00 pm- Agenda
• 8 Oct 2013 7.00 pm- Agenda, Minutes
• 17 Sep 2013 7.00 pm- Agenda, Minutes
• 3 Sep 2013 7.00 pm- Agenda, Minutes
• 16 Jul 2013 7.00 pm- Agenda, Minutes
• 2 Jul 2013 7.00 pm- Agenda, Minutes
• 4 Jun 2013 7.00 pm- Agenda, Minutes
• 22 May 2013- Agenda, Minutes
• 7 May 2013 7.00 pm- Agenda, Minutes
• 26 Mar 2013 7.00 pm- Agenda, Minutes

As mentioned above, the department responsible for Planning and Regeneration within the council is the Department of the Chief Executive. The hierarchy and responsibilities of staff are included below. Each director is responsible for organizing the committees that fall under the individual responsibilities of their department.

These departments include

• Appointments Committee
• Audit and Governance Committee
• Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Community Council
• Borough, Bankside and Walworth Community Council
• Cabinet
• Camberwell Community Council
• Corporate Parenting Committee
• Council Assembly
• Dulwich Community Council
• Education, Children’s Services and Leisure Scrutiny Sub-Committee
• Health and Wellbeing Board
• Health, Adult Social Care, Communities and Citizenship Scrutiny Sub-Committee
• Housing, Environment, Transport and Community Safety Scrutiny Sub-Committee
• Licensing Committee
• Licensing Sub-Committee
• Overview & Scrutiny Committee
• Peckham and Nunhead Community Council
• Planning Committee
• Planning Sub-Committee A
• Planning Sub-Committee B
• Standards Committee

The teams responsible for Planning and Regeneration are the Planning Committee, Planning Sub-Committee A, and Planning Sub-Committee B. As a whole, the committee is responsible for considering strategic planning issues, planning applications including Listed Building consent, Conservation Area planning consent and the designation of conservation areas, the expenditure of funds secured through legal agreements under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and all planning applications of strategic importance in the borough” (Southwark Council, n.d.).

Local Development Plan Documents and Non-Development Plan Documents include:

• Statement of Community Involvement (SCI)
• The Southwark Plan
• Ordering copies of Local Plan documents
• Adopted Policies Map
• Timescales for Planning Policy documents
• SHLAA call for sites
• Open space strategy
• Community Infrastructure Levy
• Local Development Scheme
• Applications for exemption from GPDO office to residential
• Authority monitoring report
• Old Kent Road
• Article 4 Directions

The Planning Committee works with the local community to determine whether planning permission is needed for construction projects, they hear appeal concerning construction projects that were denied, they ensure that buildings are safe through building control, and they help the public apply for planning permission.

References

London Councils. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/londonfacts/londonlocalgovernment/onlineessentialguide/greaterlondonauthority.htm

Southwark Council. (n.d.). About Southwark Council. Retrieved from http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/10058/about_southwark_council

Southwark Council. (n.d.). Information on council departments. Retrieved from http://www.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/2133/information_on_council_departments

Southwark Council. (n.d.). Committee Details. Retrieved from http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=119