More Government changes to the Planning system will make decision-making ‘less accountable’ and mean that fewer applications will be decided by councillors.
The changes form part of a national package of reforms aimed at speeding up planning decisions and supporting housing delivery.
In a bid to encourage more house-building the Government has issued changes to Planning rules that will make planning officers the default decision makers, with Planning Committees focusing only on the most contentious proposals.
Under the new rules, ward councillors will no longer be able to call in sensitive applications and proposals will no longer be referred to committee based on the number of objections received.
Instead, committees will be limited to major developments and schemes with a lasting local impact, such as large housing sites or strategic proposals.
Cllr Angela Glass, EHDC Portfolio Holder for Regulation and Enforcement, said: “These new rules will mean that fewer decisions are made by elected councillors and more are made by planning officers.
"While our Planning officers are highly professional and reliable, it does mean that fewer decisions will be taken by elected members.
“Previously, if there was local concern over a proposal, an application might be put to the committee if residents submitted five or more objections or if the local councillor requested it – these mechanisms have now been removed.
“People should feel confident that officers have the knowledge and skills to make consistent, high-quality and legally robust decisions, using nationally and locally accepted planning frameworks, but these new rules will change how local people influence planning decisions.”
The Government has introduced the changes to speed up decision making. As committee decisions can take longer, the changes allow officers to deal with the majority of applications more quickly.
Nationally consistent and professional decision-making should also reduce the number of costly appeals and legal challenges a council has to fight.
Read the new rules on the Government’s website below.