In contrast to buying in consultancy to help with mainstream planning tasks, buying in expertise or skills is relatively straightforward. Councils have an established track record of doing so and access to a large and well established specialist consultancy market. There are 442 separate firms offering planning services in England (Source:The A-Z of planning consultants 2005/06, Planning 30 September 2005) . The firms offer services across 33 separate specialist areas ranging from archaeology to energy planning and urban design through to forestry. In addition, many of the firms provide linked services to other development related skills such as engineering, valuation and estate management.
The main advantage of using consultants to provide specialist skills is that it enables the council to secure appropriate resources for one-off projects without having to resort to direct employment of staff. Using external specialist help also allows councils to learn from what works elsewhere and can avoid unnecessary duplication.
However, the councils may experience difficulty in acting as an informed client and making sure that skills, expertise or knowledge are not lost when the contract is completed.
The informed client
If the council buys in expertise not available in-house, it needs to ensure it has the capacity to monitor and critically appraise the consultant's work. It may be necessary to assemble a steering group which includes external stakeholders with the relevant expertise. For example, High Peak District Council has engaged consultants to undertake a landscape character assessment. The consultants report to a steering group that includes the Conservation and Design Group of Derbyshire County Council, the Peak District National Park Authority and the Countryside Agency. That is to say, a client group that has the expertise to provide critical challenge to the project at the appropriate stages. In addition, through the Countryside Agency, the intention is to apply the learning from the project across the country. This presents the opportunity for councils which commission future work in this area to draw on High Peak's experience.
Knowledge capture
When buying in expertise, the council needs to ensure that it continues to benefit from the work after the consultant's input. This means that wherever possible, by the end of the process, councils should have policies, plans or guidance that planning staff can apply in reaching decisions on a daily basis. Returning to the High Peak example, the consultants are working towards designation of eight landscape areas. For each area the intention is to produce a brief double sided A4 guide setting out: the elements that make up the special character; acceptable materials; acceptable design principles for new buildings; and recommended planting. The documents are illustrated and provide a clear guide to non-landscape specialists to ensure that new development is successfully integrated into the countryside. The council anticipates that this material will enable its planning officers to develop a better understanding of landscape character issues and to effectively apply the guidance in reaching planning decisions.