Planning application process goes online

The Planning and Development Department, formally the Town and Country Development Planning Office, has officially launched its new website and ePortal platform which are aimed at streamlining building and development applications into one easy-to-use process.

Senior Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, with specific responsibilities for coordinating all infrastructural projects, Dr William Duguid, said the new website, and specifically the ePortal, will provide timely information and processes for locals to access anywhere, anytime.

He was speaking at the official launch of the online portal on Wednesday.

“The department is in the process of undertaking certain operational improvements to service delivery, the most notable being the use of an electronic portal for submitting planning applications. The ePortal platform was conceptualised to allow the public to use the services of the Planning and Development Department in an online environment that is mobile responsive to facilitate planning business,” the former Minister of Housing told attendees.

“It is part of the department’s overall digital strategy to improve its efficiency and to make the planning process more accessible and digital. The portal will also be linked to the department’s internal software and will allow quicker processing of applications without the need to visit the department in person.”

The ePortal will be able to facilitate most of the services provided by the department online, with users being able to submit a variety of applications including, but not limited to those related to residential, commercial, industrial, and other development; chattel houses; permitted development certification; permission to kill a tree; final plans approval; revised plans approval; and site layout certificates.

Minister Duguid expressed the hope that the online access to the department would result in a significant increase in productivity in the department, which will increase client satisfaction, as the Mia Mottley-led administration seeks to fulfill its mandate of modernising and adding transparency to all government entities.

“It is expected that the principle of proactive management will be a significant cornerstone in the processing of development planning applications. This shift will require a new culture that encourages interaction with the public, and is focused on enabling and facilitating high-quality sustainable development,” he said. “It will also need to proactively monitor and manage performance to achieve the necessary improvements.”

Director of Planning and Development Department, Trevor Leach, who also sits on the new 13-member board of the Planning and Development Department, said that waiting times for applicants will be significantly reduced, thanks to the new system.

“Applicants no longer have to visit the office. The portal is certainly an interactive system, and in addition to that, officers continue to be available for consultations and discussions, so in terms of the actual submitting of a planning application, applicants no longer have to come to the department, everything can be done online.

“We are online with our consultation agencies as well. We no longer physically send files to our partner agencies. All of the consultation process is online and has been online now for quite some time.”

Leach added: “The launch of the portal would signal a digital by default environment for the submission of all applications. It is, in our view, certainly the way to go. The direction the department is going and will continue will build on.”

The new Planning and Development Department portal can be accessed through the department’s website,
www.townplanning.gov.bb. (SB)