Buckinghamshire Planning & Environment Service

Buckinghamshire Council's planning team was formed in 2020, bringing together colleagues from four former district councils and a county council within one unitary authority. The team processes more than 13,000 planning applications annually and is working on a single local plan for Buckinghamshire. Integration took place alongside service changes: the team replaced email communication with phone calls, which reduced customer complaints, and overhauled its enforcement and compliance functions, putting the council third in national performance league tables. The judges said: “This council turned its service around whilst simultaneously merging authorities which is a significant achievement.”