Staffordshire county councillors have approved changes to the authority’s constitution to comply with new national planning rules, despite continuing to voice concerns about the changes.
From 31 October, a new mandatory national scheme of planning delegations will come into force, placing tighter requirements on which planning applications can be considered by councillors rather than determined by planning officers.
The majority of planning decisions in Staffordshire are taken by borough and district authorities and delegated to council officers. Staffordshire County Council deals with applications relating to minerals and waste, such as quarry proposals, as well as local authority maintained schools.
Members of the county council’s Audit and Standards Committee refused to endorse proposed changes to the authority’s constitution at their meeting on 29 September.
But at the full council meeting on Thursday 8 October, councillors were advised that the authority was legally required to make the changes.
Members spent more than an hour and a half debating the issue before voting by a majority to approve the amendment.
Council leader Martin Murray told councillors that he would raise concerns about the changes with Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Staffordshire MPs.
He said
“Adopting this change to our constitution is an act of legal necessity, not choice. If we had a choice, I suspect many of us here would vote against it.
“What this Government want to do is centralise planning decisions, stripping local people of their voice. That’s an affront to the very concept of representative democracy, and that in my view is fundamentally wrong.
“But we have no choice but to adopt these changes, because not doing so would put Staffordshire County Council into a state of structural illegality. It would create huge governance and financial risks to the council and undermine our ability to deliver the vital services our residents rely on, we should not impose those kinds of consequences on the people of Staffordshire.
“A vote to pass this change is not a sign of support. It is a demonstration of our ability, whatever party we belong to, to make the difficult decision in difficult circumstances to keep the authority legally compliant.”
Councillor Philip White, leader of the opposition, said he would vote against the changes.
He said
“This is a terrible example of Government overreach into one of the basic functions of councils, determining what will be built and what will not be built in our local area.
“We here on the Conservative benches can’t go along with this. We need to give voice to our opposition for this, we need to give voice to our residents who will be horrified that these decisions are being taken away from us.
“There are councils up and down the country who are voting against this. They are well aware that the Government can overrule them, but they are voting against this.
“The more of us who do it, the harder it is for the Government to steam roller over us and do this. This is a decision that can be reversed if we stand up for our residents and have the courage of our convictions.”
Councillor Ian Cooper said
“Today I am deeply frustrated. Not because I want Staffordshire County Council to break the law, not because I oppose change, but elected members have been placed in an impossible position.
“We are being asked to choose between surrendering democratic authority or suffering the consequences. That is not a choice, that is compulsion.
“I am asking that this vote should not take place. It should be deferred, members given full information, the publication of the complete audit trail of these decisions and the advice received.
“This proposal has history and members are entitled to see it, members deserve absolute clarity on the record in front of the public.”
The vote went ahead, with councillors present voting by a majority to amend the constitution to reflect the new planning rules.
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