Recent amendments to UK planning legislation will reduce the number of major housing developments in Somerset that are decided by public councillors after 31 October.
As part of the Labour government’s commitment to deliver 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current parliamentary term, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced in June updates to the national scheme of delegation. This set of rules determines which planning applications are brought before public committee meetings.
These changes, which will apply in Somerset from the end of October, could limit public scrutiny of significant developments, particularly where outline planning permission has already been granted.
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Currently, developers can seek planning permission either through a full application, covering all details simultaneously, or via an outline application-typically addressing access arrangements-followed by a reserved matters application that finalises the detailed design and layout.
Under the existing system, full, outline, and reserved matters applications may be referred to the appropriate planning committee if agreed by two local division councillors and the committee chair.
The revised scheme maintains that major outline applications will still be considered by committees; for instance, the upcoming phase of the Monkton Heathfield urban extension in Taunton remains under committee oversight.
Additionally, reserved matters applications for developments of 500 homes or more will continue to be considered by committees, as will developments where councillors and officers have mutually agreed to decide all related applications publicly, such as the Orchard Grove estate in Taunton.
However, for reserved matters applications involving fewer than 500 homes, decisions will typically be delegated to planning officers unless the associated officer, local councillors, and committee chair agree to refer the application to committee.
Dawn de Vries, Somerset Council’s Service Manager for Development Management, clarified this approach during the Planning Committee South meeting in Yeovil on 29 July. She explained that the ‘gateway test’-requiring approval from the lead division member, lead officer, and committee chair-determines whether applications come before the committee. Reserved matters for developments under 500 homes are generally delegated to officers, whereas reserved matters for large outline applications of 500 homes or more must pass through the gateway test to potentially be considered by committee.
Councillor Oliver Patrick, a member of the same committee, noted that councillors will still have the ability to decide on significant applications but will need to make stronger cases to have applications referred and to justify any refusals.
In a post on his official LinkedIn page, Councillor Patrick addressed concerns among councillors about diminished influence, stating: “Councillors will still have the powers to call major applications to their committees. They’ll just have to work harder, make the argument and use material planning reasons, instead of relying on ‘red cards’ or a certain number of objectors submitting comments.”
Several years ago, Somerset Council implemented the ‘Planning Reimagined’ initiative to streamline the planning decision process, allowing committees to focus primarily on major decisions. Since then, applications for individual households or “in principle” (screening requests) no longer come before committees unless the applicant is a councillor, officer, or their relative.
Representing the Coker division near Yeovil, Councillor Patrick said this change enables committees to concentrate on major, contentious issues of public interest. Responding to claims that the new rules represent a “denial of democracy,” he stated: “Around 95 per cent of planning applications are already determined by officers, based on policies adopted by democratically elected councillors through the Local Plan process. That’s how a plan-led planning system is intended to work: councillors formulate the policies against which plans are judged, and then we let the professional planning officers get on with it.”