A few weeks ago OnTheWight, on behalf of Island residents, raised concerns with the Chair of the Isle of Wight council’s Planning Committee over delegated decisions being made by Planning officers.
Last week we ran a Letter to the Editor from the chair of planning at Niton and Whitwell Parish council, Cllr Jon Young, who raised similar concerns when he asked, “Are we witnessing the slow death of democratic planning controls?”
Review of the Constitution
The chair of the Planning Committee, Julia Baker-Smith, has told OnTheWight that in light of recent concerns, she is now currently undertaking a review of the council’s Constitution (a document that sets out how the Council operates – see latest version).
Cllr Baker-Smith has emailed all members of the Isle of Wight Council asking for their feedback on the current policy for the handling of applications and the role of the Planning Committee.
In her email, she’s asked members to review the relevant sections of the Constitution (the highlighted graphics below).
Amendments tabled
Cllr Geoff Lumley informed OnTheWight that he’s submitted the following amendment to the Council’s Constitution, to tackle the wishes of local members being overridden by the Head of Planning.
“The Chair and Vice Chair of Planning Committee together with the elected member for the ward in which the application is located shall determine whether the reason(s) for requesting call-in to planning committee is/are relevant and material to the consideration of the application. They will be advised by the Head of Planning.”
He adds,
“This changes the decision process on whether an application goes to full Planning Committee away from being the exclusive preserve of the Head of Planning.”
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