Sustainable Development

Customer Charter

Who are we?
The Department of Development, Safety and Regulation covers a range of services that influences the way we live, work and play.

Most functions within the Department have a regulatory role, which is designed to ensure that the environment in which we live is as safe as it can be.

The Sustainable Development Team provides monitoring and advice on energy and water consumption in the Council, promotes sustainable resource use in the Council and wider community and is responsible for developing and monitoring a range of environmental performance indicators.

Services Provided

Developing and reporting on Council-wide Environmental performance indicators
Servicing South Ayrshire Sustainability Forum.
Monitoring energy and water consumption and advising on efficiency measures.
Implementing Home Energy Conservation Act the domestic energy efficiency strategy.
Delivering Community Links initiative for sustainable community projects.
Servicing South Ayrshire Waste & Environment Trust.
Supporting delivery of 5-14 environmental curriculum.
Supporting implementation of Ecoschool programme.
Promoting sustainability issues in the local community through talks, displays and events.

Service Standard
Our team of courteous and experienced staff are happy to offer advice and assistance with any enquiries you may have.

When you contact us either in writing or by e-mail we will:

Endeavour to deal with general correspondence within 5 working days of receipt.
If the subject is complex, we will let you know within 5 working days of receipt of your letter when you will expect to get a full reply. We will also give you the name and contact telephone number of the person dealing with your correspondence.
Try to give you a full reply with as much information as possible.

When you contact us by telephone:

We will give our name and Section when answering the telephone.
We will try to deal with your telephone enquiry at the time or pass you to an Officer who can.
If the person you need to speak to is not available, you can choose to speak to someone else who can help. If you leave a message we will get back to you within 1 working day.

You can expect us to:

Be courteous and professional at all times.
Give you as much information and immediate advice as possible.
Observe privacy and confidentiality in all matters.
Monitor and evaluate our performance.
Give you a quality service at all times.
Endeavour to provide clean, accessible public offices that ensure privacy, comply with occupational and safety standards and that facilitate access for disabled people and those with additional support needs.

Specific Service Standards
We undertake to:

Process all applications for grant as promptly as possible.
Respond to your request for information within 5 working days.
Where necessary, advise you of progress at regular intervals.
If required, explain how a decision was reached.

When you ask for an appointment
If you wish to make an appointment to discuss any aspect of the Service please contact 01292 616612 to arrange a mutually convenient appointment.

Identification of Staff
All Council staff and contractors are issued with identification cards, which they are expected to display prominently. The cards give the name, position and Department of the cardholder and they also include a photograph.

If Council staff are calling at your home or place of business, you are entitled to ask to see their identity card so you can satisfy yourself that they represent the Council. The details on the identification card can be verified by contacting the telephone number printed on the identification card.

Treating Everyone Fairly
Development, Safety and Regulation is committed to promoting equal opportunities for the community it serves.

What you can do to help

Keep us informed of any changes in your personal circumstances that may affect any service that we provide to you.
Attend any appointment in time, or let us know if you cannot do so.
Behave in a considerate and polite way so we can give you and other customers the standard of service you would expect.
Provide the information we ask for when we ask for it. This will help speed up the process.
Ensure that you read all information that we provide for you, it is to your benefit.
Please be patient as there will be times when we are exceptionally busy. We will however, make every effort to keep waiting times to a minimum.

What if I am not satisfied?
If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please contact us and we will try to resolve any problems quickly and explain what we have done and why. You should contact the Officer you have been dealing with in the first instance.

If we do not respond satisfactorily, you can take your complaint further by using the South Ayrshire Council's feedback procedure. You can get a leaflet titled 'Help Us To Get It Right' directly from ourselves or from any South Ayrshire Council Office. Alternatively you can phone 0845 601 2020 or e-mail cst@south-ayrshire.gov.uk. You can also use this procedure for comments, suggestions and complaints about other Council Services.

Any Suggestions?
We hope you will find this information helpful and that we continue to meet the standards we have set. Please let us know what you think by using the Council's feedback procedure or by contacting us directly at the address below.

How and when you can phone or visit us?
We are based at: Burns House, Burns Statue Square, Ayr, KA7 1UT. Telephone: 01292 616612/616599 email: sustainable.development@south-ayrshire.gov.uk. Further Service information is available in our sustainable development section. There are voice mail and email facilities for messages to be left out of normal hours.