The Department of Planning has halved the length of time it takes to process planning applications, according to Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy.

He told the Senate this morning that the average time taken to process an application fell from 12.7 weeks in 2012 to 6.5 weeks between August and November this year.

Senator Fahy said 49 percent of applications were processed within 12 weeks — an improvement on 40 percent last year.

The Minister announced that the Department would stop accepting incomplete planning applications from this month in a further bid to improve its efficiency.

He said: “Too often, applications have inaccurate or incomplete information, the plans are illegible or the nature of the development is unclear.

“Technical officers can spend a lot of time ‘fixing’ these substandard applications. That means they are not spending time processing applications which are complete and could lead to actual construction.

“Therefore, beginning in December, the Department of Planning will stop accepting applications that are incomplete and/or of poor quality. Technical officers will vet the applications received every day and, within 24 hours, architects will know whether additional information is needed.

“If more information is needed, it is expected the architect will collect the plans, address what is missing and return the proposal to the Department. While that is happening, technical officers will move on with processing applications that are properly complete.”

The Minister, who took on responsibility for the Department in last week’s Cabinet shuffle, told senators today: “Prompt action by the Department enables construction projects to commence and progress in a timely manner and this assists with our economic recovery.”

He added: “Taking the step of accepting only complete application submissions is quite a departure for the Department of Planning. However, we can no longer utilise a system that creates and then fosters delays.

“The economic activity generated by building projects is too important. Even with this change, we will retain the ability to balance development needs with conservation ideals — and this is good for Bermuda.”

Sen Fahy said Planning had stopped accepting incomplete applications for minor works projects in August and the resulting improvement in processing times — from four weeks to 4.9 days — was “irrefutable”.

“Extending this throughout the entire applications process, while more challenging, can be just as beneficial,” he added.

He said there had also been an improvement in the processing times of minor works projects intended to be ‘fast-tracked’ as Permitted Development Permits (or PDPs)

“Last year, the average time taken to determine a PDP was four weeks. In the period August to November 2013, that time was reduced to 1.6 weeks and, for the month of November, reached as low as 4.9 days.

“Compared with 2012, when only 24 percent of minor works projects were determined in 18 days, during November this year a full 100 percent of minor works projects were granted permit approval within 18 days.”

Parliament heard in July that the Department was reviewing its practices to speed up its handling of requests for planning permission, building permits and building inspections.

Sen Fahy said the Department’s average response time to building and electrical inspection requests “remains impressive at less than one day” and planning searches, which are needed to complete property sales, had been speeded up.

“The average time taken to complete a search has fallen from 23 days in 2012 to 15 days during that August to November period. For the month of November alone, the searches were completed in just eight days.”

The Minister said the Department had set itself a 21 day deadline for carrying out consultations on developments and would be working on better monitoring of technical officers’ caseloads.

He concluded: “Notwithstanding that I assumed responsibility for the Department of Planning within the past week, I have already commenced discussions with the Director of Planning on further improvements and possible legislative changes.

“I am keen to build on the work that has already been done to also include greater enforcement in respect of development that is undertaken without planning approval.

“The Government made a platform commitment to streamline planning processes. We have done this and will continue to do so.”