Issue - meetings

The government launched a consultation on the reform of Planning Committees, which  opened for comments on 28th May 2025.

The key areas the consultation is seeking views on are:

·                     introducing a national scheme of delegation so there is greater consistency and certainty about which decisions go to committee;

·                     introducing rules regarding the size and composition of planning committees; and

·                     introducing a requirement for mandatory training for all planning committee members so they are more informed about key planning principles.

The government has launched a consultation on the reform of Planning Committees, which opened for comments on 28th May 2025.

The key areas the consultation is seeking views on are:

·         introducing a national scheme of delegation so there is greater consistency and certainty about which decisions go to committee;

·         introducing rules regarding the size and composition of planning committees; and

·         introducing a requirement for mandatory training for all planning committee members so they are more informed about key planning principles.

The Committee received a report  setting out the Council’s draft consultation response for their approval.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Note the contents of the consultation

(2)      Approve the draft response (Appendix 1) or;

(3)      Agree amendments and nominate and authorise the Head of Place Development, in consultation with the Chair of this Committee, to finalise and submit the response

The government has launched a consultation on the reform of Planning Committees, which opened for comments on 28th May 2025.

The key areas the consultation is seeking views on are:

·         introducing a national scheme of delegation so there is greater consistency and certainty about which decisions go to committee;

·         introducing rules regarding the size and composition of planning committees; and

·         introducing a requirement for mandatory training for all planning committee members so they are more informed about key planning principles.

The Committee received a report  setting out the Council’s draft consultation response for their approval.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Planning reporting. A Member of the Committee suggested that a quarterly report on Planning and Appeals performance is made available. The Democratic Services Officer explained that quarterly Planning, Appeals, and Enforcement reports are received by the Planning Committee, and agreed to share the latest reports with the Member.

b)            Mandatory Training. A Member of the Committee raised that they believed the response to Question 15 could be clearer, to highlight the agreement that Planning Committee Training should be mandatory nationally but administered locally.

c)            Local Training. The Vice Chair asked if there is a commitment for Council’s to hold local training for Planning Committee Members. The Planning Policy Manager explained that there is currently no national requirement for Council’s to hold mandatory training.

d)            EEBC Training. A Member of the Committee asked why training has to be repeated annually if the membership of the Planning Committee does not materially change. The Planning Policy Manager informed the Committee that it is good practice to refresh training, and new national planning policy documents or updated guidance being published means training is recommended to be maintained annually.

·         Councillor Woodbridge proposed a motion to amend the response to Question 15 to state that the Council does agree there should be mandatory training for Planning Committee Members, but it should not be administered at a National level, it should be administered locally and tailored to local requirements, as is currently done at Epsom and Ewell Borough Council.

Councillor Geleit seconded the motion.

The Committee resolved (7 for and 1 abstaining) to support the amendment.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Note the contents of the consultation

(2)      Approve the draft response (Appendix 1) or;

(3)      Agree amendments and nominate and authorise the Head of Place Development, in consultation with the Chair of this Committee, to finalise and submit the response