Concerns about Powys County Council’s planning department will be discussed in a meeting between Montgomeryshire Conservative MS Russell George and Audit Wales this week.

Mr George’s critical comments, made in an April press release, were raised at the council’s Governance and Audit committee meeting on Friday, May 23.

During the meeting, Audit Wales staff outlined their planned work with the council over the coming year. Vice-chairman John Brautigam asked Audit Wales officers if any progress had been made on Mr George’s concerns.

Gareth Jones of Audit Wales said discussions were ongoing to determine if the issues fall within their remit and that a meeting was being arranged.

Committee chairwoman Lynne Hamilton said the committee expects an update “in due course.”

Mr George confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that his meeting with Audit Wales is scheduled for Friday, June 6.

In April, Mr George said he had written to the Auditor General for Wales to raise ongoing serious concerns about the performance of the council’s planning service.

This comes after two reports on the service were published by Audit Wales over the past two years.

In May 2023, Audit Wales published a critical report on Powys County Council’s planning service, outlining several recommendations for improvement.

In response, the council established an internal board to oversee and guide the necessary changes.

Last November, Audit Wales issued a follow-up report which said that “overall” they had found that Powys planners had “responded quickly” to improve its arrangements.

Audit Wales said that the planning service has “implemented the 2023 recommendations in full.”

Mr George believes that the follow-up review did not provide a “comprehensive examination” of planning.

In particular, Mr George said the report did not evaluate the overall performance of the department, nor did it assess the merits or handling of individual planning applications.