Councillor, let me explain “material grounds” again…

I was shocked, disappointed, dismayed and frankly appalled last week when, yet again I witnessed a planning committee member very nearly convincing a planning committee to refuse a planning application with no material planning grounds. 

This particular councillor is an individual that’s been known to me for many years. He once even chaired a planning committee once upon a time (very, very badly I hasten to add) and at the time of him chairing a committee, he repeatedly tried to instruct officers to write reasons for refusal. Yes, the same professional officers who had written up a technical reason for approval was told by this councillor they got it wrong, he didn’t quite know why they got it wrong and it was now their task to find reasons for why they did it wrong… because he says so and he is elected and took a vote. It’s completely absurd! 

Anyhoo, this councillor has reinvented himself and is on a planning committee again. Now the thing that struck me most about this encounter is that he single handedly disproved intellectual development and evolution. The number of times he had been told that he needs to provide material grounds for consideration if he wanted to refuse planning permission has still not sunk in. He again tried to overturn an officers recommendation for approval and then suggested that the “very clever and capable officers of the council could come up with reasons that would stick”! I am however very happy to report that the planning lawyer in attendance was having none of it and the application wasn’t refused. 

I mean honestly, if you are going to try and turn down a planning application, at least familiarise yourself with the planning policies (i.e. the law) and read the application and then understand the application and how the policies are applied to it. If you then still think the officers (who are professionals and trained for many years) got it wrong, then please have the respect for them to provide sensible arguments against their recommendation. Don’t be so patronising to say “you got it wrong, now find reasons for why you got it wrong”. 

This is also why we are in dire need for the Planning Bill to become law and force people like this councillor to either get training, pass and exam to prove it or otherwise not serve on the planning committee.  

It’s also worth playing a lot of credit to the multitude of Councillors who do understand their job and make sensible decisions. Unfortunately, these little rotten apples are the ones who cause the problems, stop the next generation from owning homes and cost their local tax payers hundreds of thousands of pounds in unnecessary legal costs!

Until next week,

Henry