The buildings standards team within The Highland Council’s Planning and Development Service has been highly commended for the way it has significantly improved the service it provides to customers.

The team received the praise of the Planning Environment and Development (PED) Committee for the outcome of a re-audit of the service by the Scottish Government’s Building Standards Division.

During the summer, the auditors looked again at the team’s operation and scored the team’s performance as good on two counts and excellent on the other three.

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Their report stated: "The service has an over-riding wish to provide a consistent and high quality service to its customers. It has moved a considerable way to achieving this, particularly given the challenging nature of the office network that covers a large geographical area.

"The consistency of service is being achieved through strong leadership; development of robust processes and consistent policies is the result of well managed and inclusive communication, strong ICT use and a willingness of everyone within the team to be an integral part of the improvement approach."

Councillor Ian Ross, Chairman of the PED Committee, welcomed the new audit report, which confirmed a dramatic turnaround in the service provided to the public by the building standards team.

He said: "Great credit is due to everyone involved in achieving this really significant improvement in the service we provide to the public. We are committed to maintaining and building on the improvements achieved in recent times."

(GK)