Northumberland leader slams Government plan to remove planning decision powers from councils

The proposals are aimed at improving the efficiency of council planning committees by focusing on larger developments.

Between July and September last year, less than half of minor applications were decided within the statutory time period of eight weeks, while only 20% of major applicants were decided within the longer limit of 13 weeks.

However, Cllr Glen Sanderson accused the Government of “dismissing democracy” and ‘belittling’ local councils.

The Tory-led administration has repeatedly voiced outrage at Westminster’s decision to increase Northumberland’s annual housing target by 200%.

Cllr Sanderson said: “This is a slap in the face for local government. If there is now a question of deleting democracy, that is not in the interest of our residents, businesses or our county.

“To dismiss democracy and belittle everything that this council has done is monstrous, ill-advised and wrong. What Labour don’t realise is some of our schools are already full – as are GP surgeries and dentists. What about our roads?

“It is really the most astonishing, unimaginable and ill-informed nonsense that I have ever heard. We know what the people want – they tell us there are already too many new houses.”

He also pointed out that the Conservatives had delivered more than 3,000 affordable homes since coming to power in 2017.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “As part of our landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill, we will modernise planning committees so that they are focused on key applications for larger developments rather than small scale projects or niche technical details.

“This will ensure that the right decisions are taken at the right level, so we can get Britain building again and boost economic growth.”

The Government says it will be setting out a “simple, workable approach” to improve the efficiency of planning committees. The new model will establish tighter rules around which applications should go to committee and those that can be decided by council officers.

Smaller-scale developments and those dealing with the likes of reserved or technical matters will not go to committees under the new rules. The Government intends to consult on the new model further in the coming weeks.