MOU: Development Control and Environmental Health

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been developed by RHE Global in partnership with environmental planning and air quality expert Tim Glews, in response to feedback Tim has received from local authority officers whilst delivering seminars and training sessions.

The MOU is designed to support officers in both development control and environmental health services to have an effective and efficient working relationship, set boundaries and promote good practice.

Tim explained why having a formulised agreement between the two services is so important:

In my experience as an environmental protection officer and manager servicing the development control committee at a large metropolitan borough council, I came across numerous situations where development control was hindered by sporadic communications, lack of procedural understanding and, on occasions, a failure to appreciate the issues of concern from both an environmental protection and a development control perspective.

From my discussions with other environmental health professionals, I understand that this is a common problem experienced within local authorities. To address these issues, it is useful to develop a ‘memorandum of understanding’, agreed between environmental protection and development control services.

This RIAMS template has been produced to provide local authority officers working in these services with a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities with respect to development control, alongside the environmental factors that need to be considered as a part of proposed developments.

The MOU promotes a good working relationship between officers and service areas, to help with effective communication and provide for the smooth progress of decisions on planning applications, for the benefit of the applicants, interested parties and local authority.

We appreciate that the arrangements to undertake and manage development control differ between local authorities, so the MOU is provided as a template document. Its structure is such that it can be customised by the officers actively involved in providing the service, to reflect accurately the working arrangements for their specific circumstances. The tailored MOU should be a joint effort between the environmental health and development control services and be approved by the managers and heads of service.

The MOU is available here in RIAMS Libraries. Subscription required.

Up-to-date, easy-to-access procedures and guidance are available on RIAMS Libraries, supporting environmental health practitioners across all specialisms to work smarter, network and share good practice. Join the conversation for free on RIAMS Communities.

Visit RHE Training for a variety of training opportunities in specialist environmental health subjects, including planning consultations.

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