Bucks Council defends hiding planning comments despite other authority's u-turn

The council made the decision in March following a data breach meaning that residents’ opinions on everything from loft conversions to large housing developments were deleted from the council website.

Now Wakefield Council in West Yorkshire has reversed its decision to do the same after a meeting with members of the public.

People can still have their say on planning applications in Buckinghamshire, but their views will not be viewable to the general public.

Councillor Peter Strachan, deputy leader and cabinet member for planning said he stood by the council’s decision.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The council has made its decision in order to comply with the law regarding the legal protection of data.

"Unless legal requirements change the council has no current plans to revisit this decision.”

Councillor Strachan said the council would still fully consider residents’ views when determining applications.

The Conservative previously told the LDRS: “This is because there have been instances of personal data and information being shared and we have a duty to protect the personal information of individuals under GDPR rules.”

The ruling party said the council had considered publishing redacted public comments.

However, reviewing and removing personal information from representations was considered too costly and time-consuming and would ‘not eliminate the risk entirely’.

He said the council will continue exploring other options, including AI redactions.

Local authorities are not legally obliged to publish comments and responses on planning applications. However, resident comments on planning applications can be a great way to gauge public sentiment.