Somerset Council says it cannot afford to strengthen its planning enforcement team despite officers carrying an average of 169 cases each.

A £475,000 improvement plan would fund six more officers, help clear the backlog and provide additional legal support. But senior officials say the council's financial problems mean they cannot recommend the spending.

The warning came as councillors were told the authority still needed to find £29 million this financial year and faced a projected £40 million budget gap next year.

Bill Cotton, interim service director for planning, acknowledged complaints from residents and councillors about the enforcement service.

He said: "I think we've got to the point at which we acknowledge that the enforcement service is not what we'd like it to be.

"There's a lot of unhappiness with councillors and members of the community who feel that the planning service is being undermined in terms of our control of the situation.

"We have got some proposals – but it's just a money problem. There is no money, so we are caught."

A review found the average caseload for enforcement officers, including agency staff, had risen from 155 in November 2025 to 169 in May 2026. The increase of just over nine per cent was described as unsustainable.

The council has introduced a triage system which closes around 85 per cent of initial enquiries without further investigation. Town and parish councils are being encouraged to deal with lower-level matters before referring them to the enforcement team.

The proposed improvements include £270,000 for six additional enforcement officers, £105,000 in one-off agency support to tackle the backlog and £100,000 for legal services.

However, Chris Hall, executive director for community, place and economy, told the climate, environment and place scrutiny committee on 15 October that the planning service, his department and the wider council were all under financial pressure.

He said there were no measures in place that would bring all three within budget by the end of the year. Approving the additional enforcement spending would increase the pressure.

The council had admitted in January that it was relying on agency staff from a Staffordshire district council to carry out much of its enforcement work.

In July, Conservative councillors sought a full review of the service. The ruling Liberal Democrats rejected the request, saying improvements were already being developed.

Councillor Andy Dingwall, Conservative member for Bridgwater East and Bawdrip, said he was extremely disappointed that funding was now unavailable.

He said: "My motion was voted down in the council chamber on the specific argument that the administration will put together a plan to deal with the backlog in planning enforcement.

"I don't think this is a step in the right direction. I don't think what we've got here is a plan, because there's no money to enforce it."

Green councillor Dave Mansell, who represents Upper Tone, also urged the authority to find the money.

He said: "It's good to see the report – and then obviously it's not good to hear that the funding's not there.

"It's a high-profile service and the public see people getting away with things which they shouldn't – we do need to be on top of this.

"It's a bad look for the council and it's a bad outcome when enforcement is not being done as I'm sure you would all wish – so I do hope the funding's found."

Chief financial officer Lizzie Watkin warned that the council had to address its wider financial position before committing to improvements.

She said: "We have £29m to find in this year – we have to look everywhere in terms of services stopping, cuts all over the place to be able to address that.

"We are still forecasting a £40m budget gap for next year. These are serious numbers that we have to tackle as an organisation – this needs urgent action and absolute focus on the organisation.

"I absolutely understand the want and the wishes, in terms of this being the right thing for our public and our communities to drive forward the right type of behaviours that we really want in our place.

"However, we have a massive financial strain on the organisation that has to be addressed first and foremost.

"Otherwise, we'll be in a position where those decisions aren't in our hands and that's the thing that we do not want to do."

Reporting by Daniel Mumby, LDRS

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