Outrage over move to shift planning controls
Author: Dominic Browne, the MJ |
The chairman of an influential Commons committee has slammed government proposals to remove planning powers from struggling councils and hand them to Whitehall, without the right of appeal.
Clive Betts, chair of the communities and local government select committee, told The MJ many councils would be ‘as appalled as I am’ by the proposals, which he warned ‘undermine the democratic basis of the planning process while doing nothing to support growth’.
Lifting the burden: Ministers want to loosen planning rules.
Speaking to Mr Betts’ committee this week, planning minister Nick Boles sketched details of the last-resort plan to take decision-making powers from councils and hand them to the Planning Inspectorate – an executive agency of the DCLG. The idea was first floated in September, as part of the Government’s strategy to use the planning process to foster economic growth.
Mr Boles revealed councils could be placed under special measures by the DCLG if they were not processing applications quickly enough, or when too many applications were being overturned on appeal.
‘There are times when some local authorities, frankly, abdicate their responsibility [to lead on planning]. In those very few cases we say to local authorities, because you have consistently failed to make planning decisions in a timely fashion or in accordance with your policies, we are effectively giving the developers a route to the inspectorate.’
Mr Boles said the plans would be subject to consultation shortly, and added that any future use of special measures would be temporary, and ‘a last resort’.
The exact criteria for imposing special measures is still being drawn up in Whitehall, but Mr Boles said that once under the special measures, councils could only appeal by launching a judicial review. Senior sources at Eland House confirmed that once a council was under special measures, developers could demand the Planning Inspectorate process their major applications instead of the local authority.
The Inspectorate would also receive all fees for the relevant planning applications, despite relying on the councils to still process ‘certain administrative aspects’ of applications.
Mr Boles also warned councils faced being ‘bullied’ if they didn’t quickly draw up local development plans.