Decisions over planning applications in Moray are being concluded twice as fast this year than they were in 2013.
New performance statistics conducted by Moray Council have shown that the average processing time on applications was down to just over seven weeks – more than half the near-17 weeks they were taking two years earlier.
Officials say that the improvement has been brought about after the development management team and their colleagues in transport and environmental health had worked at reducing the number of ‘legacy cases’ of over a year old.
That resulted in improved response times for new applications, helped by efforts made by local developers to engage early in the planning process and so providing a better quality of planning application.
Chairman of the planning and regulatory services committee, Councillor Chris Tuke, said: “The speed of processing planning applications has a direct impact on the ability of developers in Moray to deliver economic growth and it is one of the key targets within Moray 2023.
“It is good to see the improvement in council performance and also the improved relationships with the development industry contributing to economic success.”