Planning Without the Spin: Our experience in the West Country
by Oliver Patrick
Liberal Democrat Councillor and Vice Chair of Planning Committee South, Somerset Council
On the 28th January The CCP hosted a well-attended panel discussion at the Engine Shed next to Bristol Temple Meads – an apt venue at the heart of Bristol’s transport network and innovation ecosystem.
The conversation brought together different political perspectives and practical experience from across the West Country, with a shared focus on the real-world challenge: how we plan, consent and deliver the homes and infrastructure our communities need, while maintaining trust in the planning process.
The panel
Councillor Tony Dyer – Leader, Bristol City Council (Green Party)
Chris Loder – Former MP for West Dorset (Conservative)
Councillor Bill Stevens – Plymouth City Council - Planning Committee Chair (Labour)
Councillor Oliver Patrick – Somerset Council - Planning Committee Vice-Chair (Liberal Democrat)
The strength of our panel discussion was its candour: the discussion moved quickly from policy abstraction to delivery realities – capacity, viability, infrastructure sequencing, and the often-overlooked human dimension of local decision-making…
Blow-by-blow: how the discussion unfolded…
The panel discussion opened with a practical framing by former West Dorset MP Chris Loder who started by saying that the West Country is not like the rest of the country.
This opened up a broad discussion about the region, which is experiencing strong demand for housing and economic growth, with delivery constrained by infrastructure lead-in times, plan-making timetables, political trust, and stretched planning services.
The Bristol Perspective
Councillor Tony Dyer (Green Party), Leader of Bristol City Council, spoke from a core-city perspective: high demand, complex sites, and a strong need to align housing with public transport, jobs, and climate commitments. Cllr Dyer was impressively solution-focused, with an emphasis on place-making and ensuring development contributes to inclusive growth.
“We have enormous numbers of people in need of social and affordable homes in Bristol, but viability is a constant issue in the city and one that isn’t going away.”
Cllr Tony Dyer, Bristol City Council Leader (Green Party)
Chris Loder again brought us back to the rural context, discussing sensitivity around landscape and settlement identity, the need for genuinely plan-led growth, and how local buy-in can be lost when people feel development is imposed on rather than shaped with them.
“If we want truly sustainable rural communities, we need more sustainable development in villages and towns – not less – with sustainability parameters that are better defined.”
Chris Loder, former MP for West Dorset (Conservative)
The Plymouth Perspective
Councillor Bill Stevens (Labour), Planning Committee Chair at Plymouth City Council, focused on delivery and outcomes: the importance of regeneration, affordability, and aligning planning decisions with wider social priorities.
Cllr Stevens brought a great breadth of experience to panel, having been a Councillor for over 20 years who now provides training to other Councillors sitting on planning committees.
Cllr Stevens reminded us all that Councillors are not technocrats, they are ordinary people who are tasked with the impossible mission of representing people and making legally-sound planning decisions. Reminding us that this is not an easy task!
“We need more people in Parliament who understand planning and have experience in this sector – including those who have sat on Planning Committees.”
Cllr Bill Stevens, Plymouth City Council (Labour)
The Somerset Perspective
From Somerset’s perspective, the conversation returned repeatedly to trust and process. Planning was described not as a sterile technical exercise, but as a democratic forum where residents expect transparency, fairness and scrutiny.
Cllr Patrick powerfully made the case for fully representative consultation in planning, engaging everyone better (including supporters!) and anonymizing planning portal comments so that supporters can comment without fear of reprisal.
Local Authority budget constraints were also explored, with tight budgets driving capacity shortfalls in planning teams.
“Spend enough time on Planning Committee and you get to know your officers – they are good people doing their best whilst under huge pressures and often for pay that is not competitive.”
Cllr Oliver Patrick, Somerset Council (Lib Dem)
Cross-cutting themes
Three themes kept resurfacing across the political spectrum:
Infrastructure first, not as an afterthought: Housing numbers are only credible when matched by deliverable transport, schools, health provision and utilities, with realistic lead-in times and funding routes.
Capacity and capability in planning services: Under-resourced planning teams increase delay and risk. Several comments pointed to the need for stable staffing, clear processes, and better use of pre-application and design review.
Trust: early engagement and honest trade-offs: Where communities feel decisions are pre-determined, opposition hardens. The panel repeatedly returned to the value of earlier, better engagement and clear explanations of constraints and choices.
Q&A
Closing the event, we held a Q&A session which saw some excellent questions come from the audience. The Q&A reinforced that the public conversation is increasingly about delivery confidence: residents and Councillors want to know not only what is planned, but what will actually get built, when, and how impacts will be managed.
Common lines of questioning included:
How councils can be more transparent about viability and the delivery of affordable housing?
Will planning reform speed things up or simply move conflict elsewhere?
How do we ensure quality design, green space, and long-term management while delivering at pace?
Closing reflections
The strongest takeaway was the extent of shared ground. Regardless of party, the panel returned to pragmatic themes: the need for plan-led certainty, infrastructure realism, and a renewed focus on trust and competence in the planning process. In a region that is growing and changing, forums like this matter – not because they eliminate disagreement, but because they make it possible to surface trade-offs honestly and build better decisions over time.
“Engagement - engagement - engagement! I cannot stress enough the importance of engagement, not just with the public but with the Town & Parish Councils and the Ward Members who are on the front line and accountable to the public.”
Cllr Oliver Patrick, Somerset Council (Lib Dem)
Next steps
If you attended and would like to continue the conversation – particularly on infrastructure sequencing, committee engagement, or how to de-risk the local planning journey – please get in touch with us at The CCP for a no-obligations conversation.