By Saul Cooke-Black

PROBLEMS recruiting qualified planning staff have cost Stroud District Council tens of thousands of pounds in the last year.

Temporary locums are having to fill the gap as planning staff across the country leave their positions to pick up higher salaries in the private sector.

According to the agenda for the strategy and resources committee on Thursday, there is a £30,000 overspend on development control relating to salaries.

SDC is currently attempting to fill five vacancies in planning.

The agenda states that: “Extra capacity has had to be brought in and such locums are very expensive.

“The staffing situation is not optimistic in the short term particularly for vacancies at senior levels.

“Such expenditure may be necessary for the rest of the calendar year at least.”

An SDC spokesman said: “Planning authorities up and down the country struggle with the same issue which sees planning staff leaving for higher salaries in the private sector.

“We have employed temporary agency staff, to fill the gap hence the higher costs.

“Whilst there is an underlying problem of a lack of suitably qualified and experienced planners who wish to work in the public sector, we have had quite a bit of interest for planning jobs we have just advertised and hopefully suitable applicants will take up these posts very soon.”