A petition demanding Buckinghamshire Council restore public viewing of planning comments after the authority removed them from public view, has ended with over 2,000 signatures.

The petition states the original decision was made without prior consultation with residents, local councillors or parish councils.

“Recent press comments say Buckinghamshire Council’s reasons to stop public comments were made in order to comply with data protection law,” the petition said.

“If this is the case, there are many other councils who are continuing to publish public comments, which indicates there is no statutory prohibition on publication.”

Aylesbury MP, Laura Kyrke-Smith, criticised the policy. Photo: BBC Parliament.

placeholder image — Aylesbury MP, Laura Kyrke-Smith, criticised the policy. Photo: BBC Parliament.

The ePetition, which ended on Tuesday, comes after MPs and councillors urged Buckinghamshire Council to revisit its controversial decision. It finished with 2,378 signatures. The council made the decision in March, last year, following a data breach, meaning that residents’ opinions on everything from loft conversions to large housing developments are no longer publicly visible on its planning portal.

People can still have their say on planning applications, but their views are not uploaded to the portal where they can be viewed by others. Buckinghamshire Council is one of only a few authorities to restrict access in this way, with many neighbouring councils such as South Oxfordshire and Slough continuing to publish planning comments.

Since the petition’s inception the council has for now ruled out changing its policy on publishing public comments on planning applications.

There has been cross party support for a council u-turn with Mid Buckinghamshire Conservative MP Greg Smith, and Labour’s Aylesbury MP Laura Kyrke-Smith, both criticising the council’s removal of public comments.