Residents in Stroud are being warned that councillors will have less say over many planning applications when new Government rules come into force on October 31.
The National Scheme of Delegation will create a standardised national framework for deciding planning applications. Under the changes, most applications are expected to be determined by council planning officers rather than by elected representatives sitting on planning committees.
Green councillors at Stroud District Council have criticised the changes, arguing they will reduce the ability of councillors, parish councils, town councils and local communities to influence developments in their areas.
Which applications will be decided by officers?
Applications for residential developments of fewer than 10 homes, or schemes on sites smaller than 0.5 hectares, will have to be decided by officers. The same applies to home extensions and minor commercial, retail and industrial developments.
Other applications will also normally be determined by planning officers unless there are “exceptional” reasons for sending them to a planning committee. Parish and town councils, as well as local councillors, will lose the ability to call in some applications for committee consideration.
That has raised concerns about developments which may be small in scale but still have a significant effect on a neighbourhood.
Cllr Moya Shannon, the Green district councillor for the largely rural Severn ward, said a nine-home scheme could be important and controversial locally but would no longer be able to come before a committee for her to speak on behalf of residents.
“A development of nine homes in my area could clearly be very significant and controversial for local communities yet I will not be allowed to have a say at committee on behalf of my residents,”
She described the situation as “a very sad and worrying situation”.
Greens challenge Government case for reform
Cllr Chloe Turner, Green leader of Stroud District Council, described the measures as “the latest shocking attack on local democracy in the planning world”. She said the loss of local democracy, community expertise and community voice was disturbing.
“This loss of local democracy, community expertise and community voice is really disturbing.”
Cllr Martin Baxendale, Green chair of the council’s Development Control Committee, rejected the Government’s continuing claim that local authority planning services were delaying development.
“This is far from being the case,”
He said the committee’s meetings had been increased to monthly to deal with an expected rise in applications following the Government’s earlier relaxation of planning laws in the summer.
According to the councillors, 94% of applications handled by the council’s planning service in the last quarter were determined within the required period. They also said that, when decisions were appealed, almost twice as many appeals supported the council’s decisions as went against them.
“Along with our ongoing record of council housebuilding, it’s very clear that councils like SDC are not the blocker Government would have you believe.”
Other planning changes criticised
The councillors also raised concerns about other recent changes to the planning system. They said the Government stopped funding Neighbourhood Development Plans last year, despite describing them as an important way for councils and communities to shape development using local knowledge.
They also pointed to a rule change in April which means residents can no longer submit further comments and evidence when a planning application goes to appeal.
“The Government claimed this would make the appeals process simpler and faster; well of course; everything is faster if you don’t listen to local people!”
At a full council meeting last week, many Green councillors and members of some opposition parties abstained from the vote to introduce the new rules. Other councillors voted for them reluctantly after the Government warned that council planning decisions could be overturned if they failed to comply, potentially creating additional costs for taxpayers.
Cllr Turner said the Government was prioritising its target of building 1.5 million homes over local decision-making. She argued that development should be linked directly to housing need in each area, with communities given a meaningful say over the design and impact of schemes in a public forum.
“There is no substitute for that local expertise.”