Chorley Borough Council has improved
customer service with a system that allows local residents to view
and comment on planning applications online.
The council said the system, which was rolled out at the end of
April, had lowered postage costs, freed up staff time, and made it
easier for residents to access and comment on applications.
Many councils have been putting planning applications online
over the past couple of years, after government targets encouraged
the move. The Transformational Government project, which encourages
the uses of electronic service delivery in the public sector, aims
to make it easier for citizens to find the information they
want.
Louise Taylor, resources manager at Chorley Borough Council,
said the system had eased storage requirements, as well as reducing
costs arising from photocopying and posting planning applications.
Since the system has been introduced staff have noticed fewer
people coming into the council offices to view applications, she
added.
"There is now access for customers to view the plans 24x7,
rather than being restricted to using the council offices in
Chorley between 9am and 5pm. It also cuts down on storage, because
you have not got rows of planning applications lying around," said
Taylor.
The council used the ROCC PDF Tools Integration package to
implement the system. Adobe Reader is used to view the planning
application, and there is a measuring and mark-up tool enabling
residents to scale the plans, work out distances and make comments
on them.
Taylor said, "The government has been pushing for councils to
introduce electronic planning services. We decided not to until we
had a fully integrated system. One of the strengths of the system
is the way that it is populated from the back-office software.
"The idea is to improve customer service. People can look at
them from the comfort of their own homes, and dozens of people can
see them at the same time."