A DESPERATE shortage of experienced planning staff could lead to another "Castle Mill fiasco" in the city, it has been warned.

Figures revealed Oxford City Council had to pay more than £380,000 to temporary staff in its planning department after it admitted it was struggling to retain workers due to high housing costs.

The bill included £214,138 on planning consultants and £80,250 on an acting head of service after the departure of former head Michael Crofton-Briggs.

City council Labour leader Bob Price said costs were met with the budget for permanent staff salaries.

But this was criticised by the Liberal Democrats, who said the city council should do more to retain experienced planners or it risked another "fiasco like Castle Mill".

The comments refer to the controversial student flats built next to Port Meadow by Oxford University, widely criticised for their appearance and impact on views.

Lib Dem city councillor Ruth Wilkinson added: "Some of the reason it is hard to recruit planners is because the city needs affordable housing.

"This is true for other key workers, such as those who work in our care homes, hospitals and schools.

"But it has got to be tackled. Labour promised us a report on key worker housing last December but this still hasn’t seen the light of day.

"The Lib Dem group is pressing for key worker homes and innovative starter homes as well as social housing.

"This city needs new ideas and flexible approaches to help our young people and lower paid workers onto the housing ladder.

"It is very important that we recruit and retain excellent planning staff for our world-class city."

Mr Price said the city council had introduced pay grades to give planners more incentive to stay and that recruitment was "being handled effectively".

He added: "The reason we have lost staff was due to some members retiring but it was also an example of the same problem facing teachers and nurses at the moment.

"The cost of housing has meant we have lost some people who are living outside the city and travelling in, it is just another effect of the city's housing crisis.

"The UK has a national shortage of planning officers and Oxfordshire is facing the same problem.

"There is also a lot of development taking place at the moment, so we need more staff."

Patsy Dell became the new head of planning and regulatory services at the city council in December, after being headhunted from Cambridge City Council.

Alex Hollingsworth, city council executive board member for planning, added: "We brought temporary staff in during the restructure of the department, but it was not a serious concern.

"With any department in a large organisation you get times when a number of people leave and that tends to come in waves.

"It is never good when of lot of experience moves on, but we now have a new head of service and I look forward to seeing how she will move things on."