FIRST it was the Home Office - and now Worcester City Council's planning department has been declared "not fit for purpose".

The damning description was given by the council's head of urban environment John Wrightson at a meeting of the scrutiny committee this week, where he painted a picture of overworked staff being stretched to their absolute limits in a department paying the price for failing to invest in modern equipment.

Former Home Secretary John Reid famously declared the Government department "not fit for purpose" in May 2006 now Worcester has followed suit. "There is a recognition the planning service is not fit for purpose," Mr Wrightson said. "Worcester's planning department was one of the best in the country for development control a few years ago. It has not been able to maintain that level."

He said problems filling key vacancies had led to each planning officer having to deal with almost 200 applications a year - the maximum recommended by local government watchdog the Audit Commission being 150.

"A few years ago we had a very low turnover of staff and very few vacancies," he said. "That position has changed."

He said the speed at which planning applications are dealt with has slipped - though is still at a good level - and that the department is now in the worst 25 per cent in the country for its technological capability.

"We have not invested as much as perhaps we should have done," he said. "The impression I get is in the past three or four years the service excelled in spite of the lack of investment. We're now paying the price for choppy waters on the staffing front, and do not have that investment to fall back on."

The cabinet member in charge of urban renaissance, Councillor David Tibbutt, said there should be absolutely no criticism of current members of staff. "We have a fantastic team of professionals and they're doing an excellent job," he said.

"I think not fit for purpose' was an unfortunate phrase to use."

He said a review of the department was ongoing, but added the role of planning officers was constantly increasing, while funding from the Government continued to be reduced.

Other councillors expressed their concern at the revelations, with chairman Councillor Geoff Williams saying: "As a member of the planning committee, I'm extremely worried about this fragility in the department."