Cumbria County Council has been awarded full marks for the way it provides electronic access to its planning services.
An assessment by the Government-commissioned consultants Peter Pendleton & Associates awarded Cumbria the maximum 21 points for a new system that allows planning applications to be submitted online.
Since the e-planning website was launched in early December, just under half of all planning applications have been made via the council's website. Cumbria County Council handles planning applications for minerals and waste as well as for council-owned buildings such as schools and libraries.
"Cumbria has shown massive improvements in the way it processes planning information electronically, " said Councillor John Robinson, Chairman of the County's Development Control and Regulation Committee.
"When the first Pendleton assessment was carried out in September 2004, we scored 7 points out of a possible 21. In May 2005 we scored 12 out of 21. To have reached the maximum 21 points within eight months shows just how committed we are to making sure access to the council's planning services is just a click away."