Bucks Council announces new planning approach ahead of controversial Government changes

Council leader Steven Broadbent said the authority was arranging the meetings to hear outstanding call-ins before the Government’s mandatory national planning system takes effect on October 31.

The changes will replace existing call-in opportunities with “gateway tests” determining whether applications can be considered publicly by councillors or must be decided by planning officers.

Only around two per cent of Buckinghamshire’s planning applications currently reach committee, and cabinet member for planning Peter Strachan warned that figure was likely to fall further.

Speaking at a full council meeting, Cllr Broadbent said: “Great swathes of our constitution, as you can see in the pack from page 13 onwards, have now had a line drawn through them.

“They are all about the call-in opportunities for members, town and parish councils and others. At a stroke, this has gone.”

He said planning committees were holding extra meetings before Halloween so call-ins already “on the books” and ready could be heard under the existing rules.

Cllr Broadbent described the reforms as a “fundamental shift in democracy” and warned that, if the nominated councillor and planning officer disagreed over whether an application should reach committee, the officer’s view would prevail.

He added: “That is a fundamental shift that erodes democracy at its very core.”

Under the new arrangements, applications classified as “Schedule 1” must be determined by officers, unless they are also classed as own-interest applications.

Applications classified as “Schedule 2” may reach a committee if the nominated councillor and officer consider that they raise a significant economic, social, environmental or planning issue.

Councillors and town and parish councils will no longer have the right to require an application to be called in. Any request they make will instead be advisory.

However, the council’s existing planning committee structure will initially remain in place while the impact of the reforms is assessed. Possible changes could then be considered for the new council year next May.

Cllr Strachan stressed that the authority had not chosen to introduce the system and must alter its constitution to ensure planning decisions remain lawful.

He called it a “regressive step for democracy”, adding: “We feel that local communities should have their say through planning committees.”

Cllr Sarfaraz Khan Raja said he “totally” disagreed with the Government, arguing that councillors were elected to represent residents and challenge officers’ conclusions.

Cllr Jonathan Waters also called the reforms a “retrograde step”, warning that difficult and finely balanced applications needed to be challenged and considered in public.

The council formally noted the report setting out the mandatory constitutional changes.