Dacorum Borough Council leader ‘disappointed’ after major planning decisions are taken out of authority’s hands
The Liberal Democrat leader of Dacorum Borough Council, Sally Symington, has said she is “disappointed” at the government’s decision to put the authority in special measures for planning.
On Monday, the Government took major planning decisions out of the council’s hands, with developers seeking permission for large developments now able to apply directly to the planning inspector.
It comes after more than 10% of large developments rejected by Dacorum’s planning committee were overturned on appeal by the planning inspectorate in the two years up to the end of March last year.
Cllr Symington said it is a “priority” for the authority to “re-establish decision-making over all planning applications at the earliest opportunity to give residents a say in the decisions that affect their local area and to ensure that the costs incurred by Dacorum’s planning department are recouped through fees paid by the developers”.
While the council will still be required to carry out the normal work on planning applications made directly to the planning inspector, it will not receive the application fees from developers who do so.
The council leader said that the two-year period considered by the government “does not recognise the significant improvements we have already made”.
She said the authority’s performance has “improved considerably” and that the number of decisions overturned at appeal had “already returned within the Government’s acceptable limits”. “We will continue to build on this progress, and we are confident that our improvements will be recognised when this designation is reviewed,” she said.
A spokesperson for Berkhamsted and Tring Conservatives said the Government’s decision showed the council was in “chaos” and warned that it could lead to developments such as the 1,400-home Marshcroft plans in Tring being “put back on the agenda”.
The council’s planning committee refused permission for Marshcroft in April, despite planning officers recommending that it should be allowed to go ahead.
Cllr Angela Mitchell, leader of the Labour group at Dacorum Borough Council, said she was “disappointed” but not surprised at news of the Government’s intervention.
She said she was “confident that with additional training and process reviews, Dacorum Borough Council will regain its planning powers” and added that she would be “doing all I can to support this”.
“More robust decisions need to be made to ensure that strong grounds are given to stop appeals from being upheld, such as at the Fairfax planning inquiry, which was a devastating outcome for my campaign team,” Cllr Mitchell said.
Fairfax was given permission last year by the planning inspector to build 390 homes off Leighton Buzzard Road near Hemel Hempstead after the council had rejected the development.