NEW Environment minister Peter Sirett has pledged to take action to improve the planning process. Confederation of Guernsey Industry chairman Phil Duquemin has claimed that morale in the planning section is at ‘rock bottom’.

He has also urged Environment to take on board all the recommendations in Chris Shepley’s independent report into the department, not pick at them in a piecemeal way. Deputy Sirett said the report was one of the best he had read, with some very good recommendations.

‘The idea that we could incorporate all of it is probably a bit ambitious and cherry-picking may be not what the CGi wants to see, but we have to work within budgets and some of the points require financing.’

Deputy Sirett (pictured is keen for the public to be able to get guidance from planning officers before making an application – something that has not been concentrated on in the past as much as it should, he said.