Planning applications can bypass Bristol City Council after it loses powers

Ministers have stripped Bristol City Council of its powers for making planning decisions too slowly

A city's planning applications are being sent directly to the government after a council was stripped of its powers for making decisions too slowly.

In March, Bristol City Council was placed into special measures for failing to meet legal deadlines to deal with "non-major developments".

It means applicants can send their plans to the Planning Inspectorate for determination instead of City Hall.

Mayor Marvin Rees has blamed government funding cuts for the problems.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Bristol City Council is one of only five local planning authorities to be "designated".

This means the government has effectively taken over the role for certain types of developments because the backlog has become unacceptable.

Hundreds of applications are stuck in the system, while steps to recover the situation were not considered good enough.

Applications that can now be submitted directly to the government-appointed inspector can best be described as 'mid-range' developments.

Two applications, relating to work in Clifton, have become the first to be submitted directly to the the Planning Inspectorate.

The inspectorate aims to make decisions within eight weeks, and there is no right of appeal.