KENNET District Council has received £613,000 from the Government for exceeding performance targets for deciding planning applications.

Last year the council dealt with 87 per cent of householder planning applications within eight weeks, against a Government target of 80 per cent.

Kennet's performance was down by one per cent on the year before but there was a noticeable improvement in the number of major applications dealt with.

Major applications are those including for ten or more houses, a large supermarket or industrial site.

The Government target is for 65 per cent of such applications to be decided on within 13 weeks; Kennet dealt with 84 per cent and this compares with 76 per cent the year before.

Ted Howles, Kennet's planning services manager, said the council's performance rated in the top quarter of 389 planning authorities and said the award is one of the largest for rural authorities outside the south east.

The £613,000 will be principally used towards improving the council's online service.

Mr Howles said: "We hope to scan in the plans themselves on to the Kennet website so if someone has applied for planning permission for a scheme at their house their neighbour could look at it on a computer in the comfort of their own home.

"It will cut down on expenditure for us in sending out plans and people don't have to travel into the council's offices and they can send in comments by e-mail."

Mr Howles also said the remaining money would be used to employ specialists in design, legal affairs and conservation either on a part time or consultancy basis.

The council did not do as well as the previous year when it received £626,000 in Government grants for exceeding the targets for dealing with planning applications.