A 'one stop planning shop' for both big league developers and people wanting house extensions is being set up by Plymouth Council.

Planners and the building control team will be working more closely together as part of a series of improvements designed to make development work simpler.

And for the first time the Council is going to be offering building control services to the public that it has not previously offered. This includes Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP), which measures the energy performance of residential buildings as well as the adjudication of party wall disputes.

Service Manager Peter Ford said: "By offering these services we hope to make it more straight forward for people to get advice, information and results from a service they are already familiar with.

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"Energy performance has become increasingly important over the last few years in construction and while there are companies which offer this, providing this service through our Building Control service may reduce a bit of leg work."

A number of changes to the Building Regulation fees have also taken place. The current fees have been amended in response to customer comments and a number of changes have been made. This includes clarity on fees for solid fuel/gas appliances, renovation of thermal elements and cavity wall insulation.

The Planning Service's pre application service, known as the Development Enquiry Service, has been reviewed following the first year of its first year of operation. As a response to customer feedback it has been simplified, prices have been frozen and more services are being provided.

The Planning Service is to also broaden its offer to developers and is making available its appraisal software and expertise to build a model which analyses project viability.

(CD/GK)