Figures presented to Stafford Borough Council's Resources Scrutiny Committee show complaints jumped sharply in 2025/26, with planning decisions and delays at the heart of the rise.
The numbers
Stage 1 complaints (handled by the officer responsible for the service) rose from 19 in 2024/25 to 65 in 2025/26. Stage 2 complaints (escalated to a chief officer) rose from 8 to 30 over the same period.
Of those, 48 Stage 1 and 22 Stage 2 complaints were specifically about the development (planning) service, compared with just 9 and 4 the previous year. Notably, 11 of the planning complaints came from a single objector to one development.
What's behind the rise?
The council's report points to a sustained high volume of planning applications creating backlogs, with applicants and agents growing frustrated at delays. The loss of the council's five-year housing land supply has also triggered a wave of speculative major applications, adding to the pressure.
Councillor Brendan McKeown highlighted one example where a Hixon Parish Council application sat in the system for 14 weeks before being validated, held up because a plan was missing a scale bar and north point. He described it as potentially "the tip of an iceberg".
What is the council doing about it?
- An improvement plan is under way to reduce backlogs
- Additional agency staff have been brought in
- Updated working protocols have been introduced
- A new customer charter is being finalised, setting out the standard of service people can expect
Response times
Despite the volume, the council is broadly meeting its response targets. The average time to respond to a Stage 1 complaint was 9.92 days, against a target of 15 working days. Stage 2 complaints were responded to in an average of 13.73 days, well within the 20-working-day target.
Five complaints were referred to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman during 2025/26, the same as the previous year. The Ombudsman did not find the council at fault in any of them.
Source: stafford.nub.news
