Published on:
27
April 2009
Clackmannanshire Council's new and improved online planning system goes live this week.
Launched by the Scottish Government, e-planning is a national project involving all local authorities which aims to stream line the whole planning process and make it more accessible to more people.
E-planning lets local residents submit an application, view planning applications, comment on them, track their progress and check the final decision all online.
Planning applications previously had to be submitted and the fees paid by post or in person. Thanks to the new e-planning system, planning applications can be submitted online via www.eplanning.scotland.gov.uk. With intelligent forms, a fee calculator and document loader, all elements of submitting a planning application can be made electronically.
The Council has also recently adopted the Scottish Government's standard forms for all types of planning applications and these can be downloaded from the same website.
Councillor Eddie Carrick, Sustainability Portfolio Holder, said: "In an increasingly digital age, people expect to be able to do more and more things online at any time of the day or night. The system we have offered via ClacksWeb for the past few years, where you can search, view, object and comment on existing applications, has proved popular and this latest improvement is the natural progression. I think the e-planning system will help to open up the planning system and make it more efficient and transparent for our customers."
The information available on ClacksWeb is also being enhanced to coincide with the launch of e-planning to include all submitted forms and drawings, any correspondences, objections, consultations and decisions that are taken. You can also comment and/or object on current applications via the website www.clacksweb.org.uk/eplanning/
ClacksWeb also has an archive of all planning applications received by the Council since 1985. You can search by a whole range of criteria including case number, address or postcode, date received, status, applicant name or agent name. You can also use the mapping facility to search via location. The site also stores all scanned in documents (forms, drawings, correspondences, objections, consultations and decision notices) dated from 2000 onwards, and gives you the ability to search historical applications back to 1985.
The Council is aware that not everyone has regular access to a computer at home or at work, so e-planning can be accessed from the network of Web 4 U computers at the libraries in Alloa, Clackmannan, Sauchie, Tullibody, Alva, Dollar, Menstrie and Tillicoultry.
The move to an online system hasn't replaced paper copies of plans. People are still more than welcome to access applications at the Council's offices at Kilncraigs, Greenside Street, Alloa, from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. And applicants can continue to submit a paper application and pay by cheque. Payments can also still be made via ClacksWeb or by calling the Council on 450000 even if your agent has submitted the application online. In other words, you, or your agent, can submit your application online and pay for it at the same time or later by cheque or on the phone, or you can submit a paper application and pay for it online, by cheque or on the phone.