A COUNCIL’s planning service estimates it has contributed £104 million to the local economy and ranked itself as “good” for eight of 12 performance indicators.

The council’s own annual performance report, for 2024/2025, highlighted granting planning permission for two affordable housing sites, a motorway services which will deliver employment at Newhouse Farm Industrial Estate in Chepstow and a bio-fuel filling station next to the M4, at Magor, as major projects completed.

Andrew Jones, who was promoted to head of planning at Monmouthshire County Council in August, 2025, stated in the report: “Based on the performance information, we can be pleased with the service we deliver.”

The report said the council outperforms targets for determining major applications within eight weeks, or agreed timescales, as well as for determining all applications within the same periods while it approved 95 per cent of all applications received, which is above the target of 94 per cent.

A clear majority of refusals issued by the council which were taken to appeal were also confirmed, which also exceeded the target for a “good” performance.

Part of the council’s enforcement work, for when a development has been carried out without planning permission, was only rated “fair” as the average time to take “positive action” declined. Three other performance indicators were rated “fair” with none marked as “in need of improvement”.

The council improved the number of major applications it determined within eight weeks from 67 per cent, in 2023/24, to 89 per cent which was “well above the ‘Good’ target of 60 per cent (8 out of 9 applications).”

The total end-to-end period for determining major applications fell from 436 days, in 2023/24, to 267 and related to just nine applications which Mr Jones said involved “complex” drainage issues for an affordable housing site at Tudor Road, Wyesham, legal and ecological considerations for affordable housing at Maby Bridge, Chepstow and the Magor bio-fuel station.

The proportion of all applications decided within eight weeks, or agreed timescales, was 89 per cent, with the target for “good” being 80 per cent. Mr Jones attributed this to “effective recruitment and training up of new officers in the applications team”.

He also said it important for the council to train its own officers in a competitive jobs market and a further planning officer had gained a qualification through Cardiff University. It also intends two further officers should obtain qualifications to allow them to consider listed building applications without having to refer to historic buildings body Cadw.

Eight of eleven appeals saw the council’s decision to refuse planning permission confirmed which was 73 per cent and described as “well above the ‘Good’ standard of 66 per cent or more”.

Officers investigated 82 per cent of enforcement cases within 84 days, which was one per cent below the previous year’s performance while still rated “good” but the average time to take positive action increased from 91 days to 134 days, and rated “fair”.

Mr Jones said: “This was primarily because we closed a small number of long- 5 standing cases which inflated the average figure. We investigated around 300 enforcement cases and served 15 notices.”

The council also said it raised around £1m in money committed through section 106 legal agreements which require developers to pay towards important community infrastructure schemes including the Abergavenny velo park proposal as a result of granting permission for major developments such as those at Rockfield Farm/ Vinegar Hill in Undy, and Grove Farm, Llanfoist.

The £104m figure towards the local economy is based on criteria developed by planners in Wales and includes the allocation of land for development, safeguarding land either for economic uses or from development, granting of planning permissions and securing obligations from developers.

Monmouthshire council has measured performance against Welsh Government set targets but said comparisons with other authorities in Wales are no longer possible as the government doesn’t require them to submit reports though the council has chosen to do so.