Published on Friday 21 February 2025
Affected Services
Development management, planning enforcement, building control, local land charges, and trees will be affected, resulting in potential delays and slower response times.
Development Management
From 5pm on Friday 21 February new planning applications can still be submitted through the national Planning Portal, but they will not be downloaded or processed during the downtime period. Processing will resume from Tuesday 4 March. You will be able to view the planning register, but you will be unable to comment on planning applications. Deadlines will be extended accordingly to reflect the downtime.
Planning Enforcement
There may be a slight delay in our usual service while we upgrade our software. You can continue to use our online form to report a breach of planning control during this time.
Building Control
Applications submitted from Friday 21 February 2025 will not be processed until Tuesday 4 March. The submission date will be the date they were received not when they are input into the new system. You will still be able to submit and download application forms from our webpage.
Local Land Charges
You will be unable to request a local authority land charge search from 5pm on Tuesday 18 February 2025, this is so we can clear all requests from the current system before the upgrade period. We will not be able to process any requests until Tuesday 4 March.
Trees
You will be able to search for and view an application for tree works to trees subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) or Section 211 notices for trees in Conservation Areas, but you will be unable to comment on the applications during this time. Applications can be submitted through the Planning Portal, but they will not be downloaded or processed during this period.
Thank you for your patience during this period
Your patience during this downtime period is appreciated. The upgrade involves significant work and requires the transfer of millions of records and spatial data from our preceding legacy council arrangements. The upgrade is continuing the Council's work to improve services for our customers.