Derbyshire County Council votes in favour of controversial planning changes to stay ‘lawful’

Derbyshire County Council has reluctantly voted by a majority in favour of controversial new planning rules despite fears they could lead to a loss of public and councillors’ control over decisions during the Government’s drive for more housing.

The Reform UK-controlled authority agreed in the summer to oppose the loss of democratic oversight and meaningful councillor involvement under the Labour Government’s plans to hand greater control to council officers on planning decisions affecting county, borough and district authorities.

But concerned county councillors have since been warned by the authority’s monitoring officer any failure to comply with the new legislation will be deemed constitutionally ‘unlawful’.

Opposition Conservative Group Leader, Cllr Alex Dale, accused the Reform administration of having ‘rolled over’ while Reform UK Council Leader, Cllr Alan Graves, explained he still does not want the changes but opposing them following new Government legislation would render the council unlawful and cause it to lose whatever control remains.

Cllr Graves told a council meeting on October 7th: “I do not think it’s right for the people of Derbyshire but if we don’t do it then what actually happens is that we then become an unlawful council.”

He added: “In July, this chamber spoke with one voice. Members from every side backed the motion on planning local democracy. We said planning is about communities not just processes. We said councillors are here to represent the people who elected them. We said decisions that shape where people live should not be quietly handed from elected members to council officials, and I can tell you now nothing has changed my mind on that and I know nothing has changed all the councillors. But something else has happened. Parliament has passed the law.

“The Government of the day made these regulations. They are actually restricting and in reality restricting freedom of speech because most planning applications are about allowing local people to have a view on planning applications.”

The Government is introducing the reforms in a bid to make the planning system more consistent and to speed-up housebuilding and infrastructure delivery, and the changes require that certain planning applications will be determined by planning officers rather than councillors.

However, Derbyshire County Council and other councils across the country have expressed concerns about the effect the reforms will have on local democratic decision-making.

The council reaffirmed its resolution agreed in July to oppose the loss of local democratic oversight and meaningful member involvement in planning decisions but councillors also recognised the council is legally required to implement the changes from October 31st.

Many councillors made it clear that they agreed to making the changes only because they were required to do so by law and not because they support the Government’s proposals.

But Conservative Cllr Dale said: “I think these reforms from the Government are absolutely ridiculous.

“We agreed to oppose the loss of local democratic oversight in this Government’s planning reforms and to stand in solidarity with Derbyshire’s districts and borough councils and their communities in resisting the erosion of meaningful involvement.

He added: “I personally cannot reconcile voting to approve the adoption of this rotten Government’s anti-democratic rules with this vote today and I am frankly rather surprised Reform are willing to do so, and you have this mealy-mouthed form of additional words that you have added but frankly I do not think they are worth the paper they are written on.

“In July, Reform took a stand. By October they have completely rolled over. Whatever happened to resisting the erosion of meaningful involvement?

“They used to be a party, as well, that protested against the establishment.

“This is a great opportunity to vote this down, to say ‘no’ to the Government and if Reform councils and Conservative councils did that we could take a stand on this. Instead we are bowing down and I do not think that is right.”

Some Reform UK councillors, including Richard Smith, Melandra Smith, and Dawn Taylor, chose not to vote on the changes over concerns people will lose their say over planning and that the reforms are ‘cutting away democracy’ on what was described as a ‘very sad day’.

Cllr Richard Smith highlighted ongoing concerns over a proposed housing scheme for 1,000 properties in Brimington, Chesterfield, while Cllr Taylor has shared fears for plans for 580 homes on green fields near Barrow Hill and New Whittington, Chesterfield, and Cllr Melandra Smith highlighted worries over ‘vastly disruptive planning proposals’ in Buxton.

Cllr Graves, said if there is a Reform UK Government in the future the law will be changed and Reform UK Councillors Joss Barnes, who said the changes are an ‘attack on our democracy’, and John Lawson both urged voters to choose Reform UK in a General Election.

Independent Cllr Emma Monkman said none of the council wants the changes and it unanimously cares about residents and she hopes that will be conveyed.

Green Party Cllr Lian Pizzey described the changes as a ‘travel in the wrong direction’ while Liberal Democrat Cllr Tom Snowdon accused the Government of attempting to concentrate power and take it away from people and that it is ‘incredibly undemocratic’.

Council Monitoring Officer Helen Barrington told the meeting: “The council does not have the ability to go against legislation. If legislation has been passed by Parliament the council is required to comply with it and if it does not comply with it the council risks acting unlawfully.”

The council voted by a majority to reaffirm its opposition to the ‘loss of local democratic oversight and meaningful member involvement’ but to approve the constitutional planning changes required to implement the national scheme of delegation due to the legal requirement.

It also noted that it is only approving these changes because the law requires the council to do so.

Cllr Graves added: “Local people rightly expect elected councillors to have a meaningful say in planning decisions that affect their communities.

“While Derbyshire County Council will comply with the law, we remain extremely concerned that these reforms reduce local democratic oversight and move decision-making further away from the people most affected by it.

“We continue to believe that local knowledge and local accountability are essential parts of a fair and effective planning system, but have reluctantly had to agree to this as we had no choice to do otherwise.”

The new planning regulations for England come into force on October 31st with restrictions on certain planning application that councils can refer to committees for decisions, and they will instead require councils to make arrangements for many to be decided by council officers.

Planning committees may be able to consider some commercial and residential developments, listed building consent applications, tree preservation orders, and advertisement consent applications but even these may be decided by planning officers unless they raise other significant issues.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has stated the changes will allow planning committees to focus on key proposals enabling other minor and technical decisions to be made by council officers.

It added the changes will modernise planning committees to improve efficiency and deliver developments more quickly with greater clarity for applicants.

The Government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes in England by 2029 to address an acute housing shortage.

Derbyshire’s district and borough councils are the key planning authorities for general developments while the county council is a statutory consultee on major applications and it does deal with minerals and waste planning matters and is responsible for strategic infrastructure.