PLANNING services provided by Wiltshire County Council are deemed to be fair, according to a report by the Audit Commission.

The commission says the prospects for improvement are promising and the council has a plan already in place to meet recommendations made by the commission.

The inspectors said staff at the council are doing an excellent job.

The council is responsible for preparing the Structure Plan, minerals local plan and waste local plan.

Staff also assess and decide on minerals and waste planning applications made to the county council.

The inspectors said many aspects of the service are being provided well, given the low levels of staff and financial resources available.

The inspectors outlined a number of weaknesses but recognised that the council is now addressing them.

They felt that the low numbers of staff restricted its ability to do more than meet its statutory responsibilities.

They also highlighted the need for better joint working with district council and better communication with customers to tackle confusion about responsibilities arising from the two tier local government system.

The service has an annual budget of £1.2 million and employs 22 staff.

Dick Owen-Smith, the county's chief planner, said the council had recently recruited two more people to ensure the council implemented the Countryside and Rights of Way Act.

He also said two more staff were going to be taken on to work in the minerals and waste team to carry out more inspections of sites across the county.

Mr Owen-Smith said: "In addition we are making contact with all district councils to try and increase the degree of joint working we do on planning matters.

"We are also working to improve the information to the public.

"We want to increase knowledge and awareness about what we do by developing a guide to planning services."