NEW PLANNING RULES THREATEN DEMOCRACY, SAYS COUNCIL
Richmond Council has condemned new planning rules it warns will shut residents out of decisions about developments and curb councillors’ ability to openly debate the benefits and impacts of applications.
The National Scheme of Delegation, due to come into force across England at the end of the month, means certain smaller-scale planning applications will be decided by officers under delegated powers, rather than debated by councillors in public.
Councillor Julia Neden-Watts, Chair of Richmond Council’s Environment, Sustainability, Culture and Sports Committee, put forward a motion calling for the government to reconsider the changes at Full Council yesterday.
“These changes to planning rules are not democratic,” she said. “They take away the voices of our residents.
“Our residents deserve the chance to see local planning applications debated openly, with councillors able to speak up not only when proposals raise serious concerns, but also when developments bring clear benefits for the borough.
“Planning committees play an important role in weighing up complex applications in public, balancing benefits and harms in a way residents can see and understand.
“Richmond already deals with applications efficiently and has robust safeguards in place.
“This blanket national approach solves a problem we do not have in our borough and risks silencing the people the planning system is meant to serve, making them feel powerless.”
Under the overhaul, smaller-scale applications including household extensions, developments of up to nine homes and minor commercial expansions can no longer be decided by planning committees.
Councillors will also lose their existing ability to call in an application for committee scrutiny.
Although the government claims the changes will speed up decision making, housebuilding and create consistency, Richmond says a one-size-fits-all system will weaken local democracy and leave fewer opportunities for residents’ views to be heard in public.
It also says the move will do little to address the real barriers to getting more homes built, highlighting it has approved schemes where construction is yet to start.
Under Richmond’s current planning arrangements, ward councillors can ask for an application to be referred to planning committee, where there are material planning grounds.
The council says this is a vital democratic safeguard, allowing proposals to be examined openly, whether councillors are raising concerns or highlighting the benefits of development.
You can read the full motion.