One of Britain’s biggest cities could cut dozens of planning officers from its payroll against the backdrop of a projected £23.7m funding gap for the next financial year.

Sheffield’s “managing employee reduction” review has already drawn fire from the Victorian Society because of its impact on the city’s built heritage, while its headcount reductions would stand in stark contrast to RIBA’s general election manifesto call for planning departments to be better resourced.

Details of the city council’s restructuring, leaked to an industry magazine, suggested that up to 28 full-time planning roles would be cut at Sheffield, while some vacancies would also not be filled – slashing the department’s headcount from 100 to 64.

…