Concerns raised over 'lopsided' planning committee

Councillor Robert Vines outlined his concerns at a meeting of Tewkesbury Borough Council

Concerns have been raised that a council’s planning committee is “lopsided” because so many of its members live in the same village.

Councillor Robert Vines told a meeting of Tewkesbury Borough Council that currently five of the 13 councillors on the committee live in one parish – Churchdown.

"That means the other 50 parishes in the borough are represented by eight members," he said.

Council leader Richard Stanley said members were impartial and that where they live was irrelevant.

Planning committee members are tasked with deciding which developments get the go-ahead and which are rejected across the whole borough.

The council reduced the number of councillors that sit on the committee from 19 to 13 last year.

But Mr Vines expressed concerns over the current setup and asked Mr Stanley if he would consider reverting back to the previous committee numbers, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Vines said he did not think it was working as well as before.

“It seems a little lopsided. I know every small parish can’t have representation."

'Working impartially'

Mr Stanley told the council the decision to cut the number of members on the committee was taken after seeking expert advice to make it more efficient, and it is in line with best practice.

“To your point regarding whether we need members from one or another village, that isn’t how planning works," he said.

“They aren’t there to say I’m from this village so I don’t want this piece of planning. That isn’t how the planning committee works.

“They should be working impartially and I absolutely believe the planning members are.”