Development Control Customer Charter

Complaints and Performance

Approved January 2006

All written complaints about the way in which development control matters have been handled will be dealt with under the Council's Complaints Procedure, full details of which can be found on the Council's web site. All written complaints will be acknowledged within five working days and fully investigated so that a response will be given within 15 working days. The response will record the findings and outcome together with any action that the Council proposes to take. If no action is proposed the reason will be explained.

If the complainant remains dissatisfied about the way in which the Council has handled the matter, the procedures for making a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman and the terms of his jurisdiction will be explained.

The Council will publish an annual review of its development control performance. If performance falls significantly below established service levels and targets in this Charter the reasons for this will be explained and measures proposed to ensure that the targets can be met.

Reviews of customer satisfaction with the development control service will be carried out and the Council will consider whether the quality of development achieved matches its expectations and in the light of this, if existing policies, practices or targets should be revised.