Planning committee code of conduct gets a refreshing change

WELCOME changes have been made to the code of conduct for planning committee meetings following a chaotic episode late last year says former planning committee member Geoff Settle.

The former Mayor of Warrington said: “I attended a planning meeting last year when the first item turned into a bit of a shambles and the man speaking against it was asked to leave or be escorted out.
“The planning officer was well into describing the Woolston Primary School application when a man behind me suddenly jumped-up shouting “That’s not fair I’ve been told I only have three minutes to speak, and he’s already been speaking for over five minutes!”
The chair explained it was the duty of the planning officer to describe and summarise the application details. Geoff said: “The gentleman sat down under protest and later got up and gave very good three-minute speech against. Afterwards he proceeded to walk around the backs of the planning committee and attempted to give out photographs of parking issues and a petition signed by 91 of his neighbours. Again, he was asked to go back to his seat and be quiet otherwise he would be escorted out of the building. The man made one last attempt before realising his time was up and stormed out.”
The former mayor realised that this was the man’s first time, he would be on edge, not understand the rules and reasons for them and he hadn’t been briefed as to what to expect. He was speaking on behalf of his neighbours and wanted to do well, not to mention a great deal of preparation and a new pressurised environment.
Geoff said: “It’s not easy to cram into your three-minute speech what you want to say, time flies by and you’ve got everyone’s eyes on you.
“The applicant will have a professionally trained advocate whose job is to deliver such speeches. Under such pressure it is very hard to stop the red mist rising, I know I’ve been on both sides with five years’ experience on the committee and speaking against on several occasions.
“I pointed out my concerns to the lead planning officer afterwards and she was sympathetic and asked me to send her an email because she was going to discuss it with the planning manager and the chair.”

Geoff returned to speak recently against an application for the construction of a 3-G pitch on Woolston Playing Fields. This had been taken out of the David Wilson Homes application for 399 homes on the Crab Lane University of Chester campus. For some strange reason it was removed from the main application and treated as a standalone.
To Geoff’s surprise at the start of the meeting the Chair read out an extended code of conduct which went a long way to address the issues of the chaotic meeting.
He said, “I was very pleased my comments have been taken on board about such things as being respectful, no interruptions, a clear line between the planning committee and members of the public and the planning committee which must NOT be crossed.
“The Chair also explained that photographs along with all other evidence must be submitted in advance on the planning portal before the closing submission date. They cannot be handed out on the evening. Only committee members can ask questions, and these will be of the planners, unless on rare occasions they have a question of the speaker for clarification. The meeting went very well.
“I tend to only have a 10%-win rate, the planning laws have changed so much since my student days in Coventry when I studied planning in my BSc in Geography and Economics. All the optimism we had for New Towns and wildlife etc back then has long since been buried under the revised rules at a national level.
“Another issue that arose during the chaotic meeting last year, I was speaking alongside Sandra Kavanagh against a Peel Hall application. The voting went three for, two against and five abstentions. Sandra turned to me and said, ‘Geoff why are they abstaining we pay them to make a decision not sit on the fence?’ and I couldn’t disagree more. The application was passed by only one vote and the votes were not recorded by name.
“There was one councillor on that evening who possibly gave a clue about abstentions when she asked if some of the more technical elements could be explained in a way that could be better understood by the councillors.”