Government removes power from district council to make decisions on major planning applications
The Government has taken powers over major planning decisions away from Uttlesford District Council after finding unacceptably poor performance.
Christopher Pincher, who was housing minister until 8 February, said he acted under s62A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 after examining data for the two years to 31 March 2020 and appeals decisions to 31 December 2020.
The council admitted it had been “assessed as failing against one of three national key planning indicators - namely, that the proportion of major applications overturned at appeal was over 10%”.
Mr Pincher said: “There are respects in which the local planning authority are not adequately performing their function of determining applications for planning permission for major development under Part 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.”
The designation means the Planning Inspectorate can take over decision making on major developments - which include plans for more than 10 houses or for sites in excess of one hectare. It stays in force indefinitely.
A statement from the district, centred on Saffron Walden and controlled by local party Residents for Uttlesford, said: “The letter of designation is very disappointing, although not surprising.”
The council had put in place “a thorough and comprehensive improvement plan” and councillors and planning staff were “dedicated to delivering an effective planning service that supports quality development.
Uttlesford last year commissioned a review of its planning service from the Local Government Association.
That found: “The planning service is widely acknowledged to be an underperforming service.
“This is reflected on the planning policy side through two failed local plans…and on the development management side through bottom quartile performance against the Government’s three key performance indicators for timely and quality of decision making and the quality of development outcomes.”
The LGA said Uttlesford’s goal of an outstanding planning and place-making capability would “require significant commitment to transformation, including capacity and capability assessment”.
It said the council had failed to act on the recommendations of previous reviews, which “demonstrates that transformational change sought by the council requires [council-] wide ownership of recommendations, effective allocations and utilisation of member, staff, and stakeholders’ resources with focussed political and corporate management leadership”.
R4U’s Cllr Petrina Lees, who is Leader of Uttlesford District Council, said: “This intervention is by the department of which our MP is a Minister of State. The excuse they are using to seize control comes from their claim that UDC isn’t winning enough planning applications on appeal – but poor development in our towns and villages must be fought for residents. In truth the vast majority of applications today are approved, with just the poorest being refused, and fewer going to appeal for further review. This removal of local decision-making is an unwarranted and cynical political move by the Conservatives.”
Cllr Lees added “They have decided that civil servants from an agency of our MP’s department will now decide what gets built in Uttlesford and where. Conservatives had previously proposed to approve new towns on the outskirts of Great Dunmow, Great Chesterford, and Stebbing, and large extensions to Saffron Walden and Elsenham. This move brings the very real fear that these developers will now go right to government for approval. It is an appalling betrayal of local democracy. Again the Conservatives have shown they want to decide what’s best for us and can’t be trusted on local matters.”
Mark Smulian
