Appointment trial for Dingwall planning office
PEOPLE wishing to contact the Dingwall planning and building control offices will now have to go through the Highland Council’s call centre and book an appointment.
From Monday February 6, an appointment system is to be trialled for all planning and building control customers at Dingwall planning office by channelling routine enquiries via its Service Points and Service Centre.
The council believes this will not only help the public by improving customer service and efficiency but will free up the time of specialist staff to focus on processing current and pending planning and building control cases.
The new approach is being trialled at the council’s area planning offices in Dingwall, as well as in Kingussie, and lessons learned will assist with the potential roll-out of a similar approach across the remainder of planning and building control area offices.
Stuart Black, the council’s planning and development service director, said: "Research has shown that the majority of first time enquiries to planning and building control offices are simple requests for forms, support in the application process or progress updates on pending applications. We believe these types of enquiries can be dealt with more efficiently and effectively via the Customer Services Network, leaving the specialists in the service to deal with current and pending cases."
Customers will now be able to book an appointment by telephoning (01349) 886608 if they require a meeting with a planner or building control officer in these area offices.
For on-going applications, existing customers will still be able to liaise with their case officer via email, telephone and booking an appointment to see them. Customer Services advisors will be provided with in-depth training to ensure that they have the appropriate knowledge to deal with enquiries over the phone and at Service Points.
A duty officer will also be available to deal with more complex enquiries or book an appointment with the relevant case officer. Customer and staff surveys will be used to gauge the pilot over the coming months.
