MEMBERS of Lichfield District Council have reluctantly agreed to approve national planning policy changes set to come into force at the end of the month.
From 31st October, a new scheme of delegation will come into force, meaning that more applications will be decided by planning officers and tighter restrictions on which cases can be referred to the planning committee.
Councillors heard at a recent meeting that in the last year there have been 1,135 planning applications, of which 623 were eligible to be called in to the planning committee. However, only 25 have been referred to the committee.
At the end of the month, planning applications will fall into two categories – Schedule One and Schedule Two. All in the first category will be determined by a planning officer.
These include householder, minor commercial applications and minor residential schemes of between one and nine homes.
For all other applications, both the chair of the planning committee and the head of planning will need to agree that a proposal needs to go before councillors. However, the presumption is that these applications will be determined by a planning officer.
Cllr Phil Whitehouse said the changes would have a big impact on local decision-making:
"The position of a local councillor is being eroded here. These changes mean we will not be able to serve and represent the public as we should be.
"There are also recent examples of planning applications where councillors at the planning committee have positively affected the decisions made.
"There will no doubt be larger scale applications affecting our communities that councillors will no longer be able to speak at. This is not democratic.
"I have serious misgivings about the negative changes outlined in this appropriately named national scheme of delegations, and I will not be supporting this paper."
A report to councillors outlined the legal risk of not adopting the changes. It warned that decisions could be legally challenged and the council would be operating outside the prescribed delegation arrangements.
Cllr Richard Stephenson said:
"I’d much like to vote against these regulations – but I recognise that if we did so we would expose all of our planning decisions to judicial review.
"The proposals effectively emasculate the planning committee. I’m not sure if that is too kind of a phrase. I think it’s getting closer to euthanasia and perhaps that would be kinder.
"The planning committee will become a paper tiger with absolutely no teeth. The removal of the ability of members to call in applications removes one of the most significant democratic powers a district councillor has."
The new scheme of delegation will also limit the number of councillors on the planning committee.
At present, it has 15 members which is set to be cut to 13. Cllr Ann Hughes said there had been examples of "frivolous" planning applications called in to the committee.
She said:
"I think there have been some call-ins that have been frivolous. It’s been a way of people placating an angry local resident cross about something over the road.
"We have had two or three where the councillor who called it in doesn’t come to defend it and it’s just wasted people's time on a very small development."
However, Cllr Paul Taylor said he would support the changes, adding that although he did not like them, he understood the reasons behind the move.
He said:
"National government has to consider a much wider picture. If earlier governments had done this in a much more subtle and appropriate way, perhaps the current government wouldn’t have to be doing what they are doing in a much more 'sledgehammer to crack a nut' way.
"I don’t like it any more than most of the councillors here have said they don’t like it, but I understand the reasons behind it. I also understand that not accepting this doesn’t in any way improve the position of Lichfield District Council or the decisions its planning committee makes."
Members voted to approve the changes, with 16 in favour. However, 21 opted to abstain.
Lichfield Live has been keeping local communities informed for almost two decades – but as a Community Interest Company we can only continue reporting with your support.
