A freedom of Information request made by the Conservative Council Group has disclosed that since January 1st, 2018, MK Council has overseen a staff turnover of 130% with 28 planning officers leaving in the last 3 years.
The Conservative Group say the data shows that more planning officers have left MK Council than Luton and Northampton Councils combined.
This comes as the investigation into how a giant warehouse in Blakelands was given planning permission in May 2017 is still ongoing.
Conservative Councillor Alice Jenkins, at a meeting of Full Council on 14th July, asked whether the high staff turnover demonstrated a planning department that was “broken”.
Councillor Alex Walker, Leader of the Conservative Group, said: “MK Council’s planning department are still facing significant challenges. High staff turnover is symptomatic with deeper problems within the organisation and staff retention has become a serious problem for the Council.
This must be addressed if they are serious about restoring residents’ faith and confidence in the department.”
