A Warrington councillor who warned that new Government planning rules could reduce opportunities for local communities to influence planning decisions says progress is being made towards protecting local representation.
Cllr Stuart Mann, Leader of Warrington Borough Council’s Independent Group, has been campaigning for arrangements allowing Ward Councillors and Parish Councils to raise concerns about applications and seek consideration by the council’s Planning Committee to be retained where possible.
The new national rules come into force on October 31 and will change which planning applications can be decided by professional officers and which can be considered by elected councillors.
Following discussions with the council’s planning team, Cllr Mann says a proposed Planning Triage Protocol is now being developed to provide a route for eligible applications to be considered for referral to committee.
He said he had contacted senior council officers, political group leaders and parish councils across Warrington to press for local involvement to be protected within the new legal framework.
“When I first raised this issue, my concern was that there was a risk the council could simply accept the new rules and lose a vitally important part of local democracy, the voices of Parish Councils and WBC ward Cllrs, without properly exploring the alternatives. I wasn’t prepared to accept that without challenging it,” he said.
“I contacted senior officers, every Parish Council in Warrington and colleagues across the political groups because I believed there had to be a way of protecting local representation within the new legislation.
“I’m now really pleased that those discussions have helped move us towards a positive solution and the proposals being developed are very much in line with what I have been asking for from the beginning.”
What will the new planning rules mean?
The Government’s National Scheme of Delegation will introduce a national framework for deciding which applications must be determined by planning officers and which may be referred to a planning committee.
Some categories of application must be decided by officers, while others will generally be dealt with under delegated powers unless they meet specified criteria and pass a referral process.
The changes mean the existing arrangements allowing Ward Councillors and Parish Councils to trigger committee consideration in certain circumstances cannot continue in their current form.
The Government says the reforms are intended to provide greater clarity and consistency, while allowing planning committees to concentrate on proposals of greater significance.
The new rules also mean that a request from a councillor or parish council will not, in itself, guarantee that an application is heard by the committee.
The proposed Warrington protocol is intended to help local representatives raise concerns about eligible applications for consideration under the new arrangements.
Cllr Mann said the challenge was to ensure the council complied with the new legislation without unnecessarily losing opportunities for local scrutiny.
“Simply voting against the changes would not stop the Government’s rules coming into force. What was important to me was finding a practical way forward that protected as much local involvement as possible,” he said.
Calls for a transparent process
Cllr Mann says his next priority is ensuring the proposed protocol clearly explains how Ward Councillors and Parish Councils can request that eligible applications are considered for referral.
He also wants the process to be transparent, with requests properly assessed and reasons recorded when applications are not referred to committee.
“This isn’t quite finished yet. The detail of the new arrangements is extremely important, and I will continue working with officers to make sure the process is clear and accessible.
“But compared with where we were when I first raised the alarm, I believe we have made significant progress.”
The national rules will take effect on October 31 regardless of whether Warrington has completed changes to its constitution. The Government’s guidance warns that planning committee decisions made contrary to the regulations could face legal challenge and potentially be quashed.
With Warrington facing continued development pressures, Cllr Mann says he will continue pressing for arrangements that allow local concerns to be considered within the new framework.
The proposed protocol is still being developed, and its final provisions will determine how requests for committee consideration are handled in practice.
