Planning performance agreements

A planning performance agreement (PPA) is a project management tool encouraged by Government which we use with applicants to agree timescales, actions and resources for handling particular applications.

It can cover the pre-application and application stages but may also extend through to the post-application stage and can be set up at any time. 

A PPA can be particularly useful at the start in setting out an efficient and transparent process for determining large scale or complex planning applications.

PPAs do not commit us to a particular outcome when making the final decision to approve or refuse the proposal.

The scope of a PPA will vary according to the scale and complexity of the proposal but would typically include the following:

1. appointment of a lead Planning Officer for your application who will co-ordinate all the relevant departments involved and who will help you set up the below frameworks
   • a realistic timetable, relevant for the size and complexity of the project which defines key milestones and any Section 106 negotiations
   • a project plan, identifying key team members and timetables for meetings, giving you more certainty on the time it will take to determine the application.

Support and advice

In addition to the above, you will also be given the following support and advice

• meetings, as appropriate, with the Planning Officer and other relevant council officers
• advice on who to consult within the local community and how this should be carried out, enabling you to fulfil your obligations under the council’s Statement of Community Involvement
• early identification of problems or unforeseen issues, and a method for reviewing these to help reduce delays to the scheme
• advice about how to reduce the number of conditions attached to the decision, to allow a quicker start to the development with less complication

We will work with you to create a good programme which identifies key milestones and pinch-points with a clearly laid out timetable and target decision date. The lead Planning Officer will regularly review progress of the key issues and tasks with you.

We will take shared responsibility for addressing any delays or blockages with you.

Our PPA service does not include statutory consultees external to the council, such as the

• Environment Agency 
• Historic England 
• Wessex Water
• Natural England

These organisations offer their own enhanced services and we recommend you contact them directly if you think it would be beneficial to your scheme.

Fees for PPAs are in addition to existing application fees and pre-application fees and reflect the additional work the council has to undertake to meet the PPA commitments.

Please see our fees page for more information. 

If you've already been allocated a Planning Officer, please get in touch with them to discuss how a PPA might help your application. If not, please contact us via the button below for more information.

Setting up a PPA can be done reasonably quickly by completing the form below and sending it to us using our contact form.

Once the agreement has been signed by both the developer and the Council and full payment has been received, the PPA can start.

• We reserve the right to decline to enter into a planning performance agreement
• PPAs are not published on our website, however, they will be released if requested under the Freedom of Information Act
• Pre-application advice will normally require an additional fee
• Design Review Panels are provided by our partner Design West