Council planning department capacity and access to expert advice is worsening, the National Trust conservation charity has warned.
The charity called on the Government to ensure local authorities have ‘well-resourced planning departments, and access to training and specialist advice’.
It pointed to a survey that found on average the number of professional planners employed by councils fell by 13% between October 2010 and 2012.
A charity spokesman said: ‘Local planning authority access to specialist advice on nature and the historic environment is also on a downward trend.
‘Only one-third of planning authorities have access to an in-house ecologist and 90% of planners lack ecological qualifications.
‘Similarly, since 2006 there has been an 18% drop in archaeological advice and a 33% drop in conservation advice.’
