Decline in planning applications and a lack of staff has cost Rugby Borough Council more than £500,000

A decline in planning applications and a lack of staff to cover those that came through left a half-a-million pound gap in Rugby Borough Council’s finances.

Outturn figures for the financial year 2022-23 showed that the authority received £320,000 less than expected from planning applications.

The council’s report cited “turbulence in the wider economy in the autumn” for the drop off in the final six months of the year – between October 2022 and March 2023 – but stated that “monthly income is now recovering in line with profile”.

A further £192,000 was spent “on agency staff covering vacancies and dealing with a backlog of planning applications”, which the report said “was a result of the gap between staff leaving and agency staff being recruited”.

Council budgets are complex and made up of many moving parts. It is not unusual to see a list of variances come the end of the year through costly unforeseen issues or extra funding coming in, and more than £54,000 was clawed back through pre-planning charges.

However, the staffing issue is one that does not look like going away any time soon.

The report was considered and approved by cabinet this week without this specific issue being raised by councillors but the recruitment and retention of planning professionals was highlighted as one of the biggest staffing challenges faced by Warwickshire County Council only last week.

Scott Tompkins, the county’s assistant director for environment services, noted a national “skill shortage across engineering and planning” and that he “just can’t get suitable candidates”, even for senior posts with salaries upwards of £40,000 per year.

“We have used headhunters, we have gone out to agencies, it is really difficult,” he said.

“When we talk to other authorities, we are all having the same struggle and we are all fishing for the same people in the same pool.”

The financial shortfall from Rugby’s planning department is accounted for within the growth and investment portfolio which up to the end of quarter three – December 2022 – had been on target to spend less than budgeted for.

The new pressures created a swing of more than a quarter of a million pounds, meaning the department was £186,000 over budget.

The situation was helped by further staffing issues – more than £250,000 was saved due to “salary voids” within development strategy and staff members starting mid-year in economic development.

Overall, the council came in just short of half a million pounds within budget with £2.369 million created from savings and the release of funds held in reserve.