Targets set by council planning boss

May 20 2011 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

PERTH has slipped out of Scotland’s top 10 council areas in the annual Quality of Life survey – and restoring lost status is one of the priorities identified by recently-appointed planning and economic development chief David Littlejohn.

Addressing the latest Perthshire Chamber of Commerce lunch at the Royal George Hotel, Perth and Kinross Council’s head of planning and regeneration mapped out a potential route to find favour with influential experts contributing to the Bank of Scotland’s annual survey.

Head-hunted from outside the local authority culture, the former director with Scottish Enterprise in Grampian now leads a 140-strong team charged with delivering an integrated planning, economic development and commercial property service.

While the system wasn’t broken – with 78% of householder planning applications decided within a two-month target set by the government – Mr Littlejohn believes the council can “do an awful lot more” in helping businesses influence economic recovery in Perth and Kinross.

His wide-ranging presentation touched on everything from the timetable for demolishing Perth City Hall and creating a new £3 million City Square to a £12 million investment package aimed at the heart of Perth, the regeneration of the historic heart of Kinross, a Blair Atholl gateway and more industrial units to encourage business development and jobs.

He also gave stout backing for the £1 million-generating Etape cycling event in Highland Perthshire, despite hostility from “a few individuals”.

Mr Littlejohn flagged-up the proposed five-star Taymouth Castle hotel and homes development as the first example of the new project management relationship being fostered between the council and potential investors.

“I think the local authority could do things faster and hopefully you will see the implementation process becoming faster over the next year,” he said.

“There is a gap between our aspirations for the area and what the facts tell us in the Quality of Life survey. My challenge is to get us into the top 10 at the very least.”

The impact of the recession was obvious within the council, with planning applications dropping from a 2007 high of 2700 to 2200 last year.

Building warrants fell from 3000 to 2000 in the same spell and Mr Littlejohn said fees gathered by the council had dipped from £1.5 million to £890,000 within that timeframe.

“That has had huge implications for the resources available,” he said.

“But the good news is that things have bottomed out and we appear to be coming out of the bad time suffered by the construction industry.”

The council was making around £500,000 available to support business initiatives and growth. Youth unemployment, in particular, was a concern locally, with the latest figure put at 5.7 per cent – among the fastest rising percentages in the country.

“We need to crack that,” urged Mr Littlejohn, flagging-up an ‘Employment Connections’ event at Perth Concert Hall on July 1.

He said the council was conducting a review of its commercial property estate, including Perth Harbour – hinting that selling to the private sector was a possibility, with proceeds being ploughed back into economic regeneration.

Mr Littlejohn said the proposed Local Development Plan, coming out before the end of the year, would include sites identified for up to 7000 new homes.

He said 70 hectares were being identified for sites creating vital employment.