HAVING to trek down to the council's planning department in Harrogate to track a planning application is set to become a thing of the past as Harrogate Borough Council launches a new public access area on its website.

 

This new on-line facility means that anyone with access to the internet can get all the information they need, about a planning application in the Harrogate district, delivered straight to their homes. 

 

Funding for the development of this new service came from a huge cash grant the council's planners received from the government because Harrogate Borough Council was deemed to be one of the country's top improving planning authorities.

 

Councillor Richard Cooper, Cabinet Member for Planning, said:  "Last year our planning grant from the government increased from £75,000 to £550,000 and was just the thumbs up we needed after making major improvements in our service.  We receive more planning applications than any other district in North Yorkshire and our planners are dealing with them faster than ever before.

 

"We work hard to help people understand the planning process and to make things easier for them.  We have been developing our procedures to provide practical advice both written and via the web for a number of years now.  But this new on-line development means that people can have quicker and easier access to all that information as well as being able to track the progress of planning applications, either their own or in respect of other developments in which they may be interested."

 

Visitors to the website will also be able to make representations on planning applications via the web.  Public access also includes deadlines for consultation, the date a decision is likely to be made and by whom, details of the planning case officer and details of the local wards and councillor representatives.

 

Public access is available from www.harrogate.gov.uk/planning/publicaccess