Portsmouth: Council could be stripped of planning powers

The city council said it was working hard to speed up its processes

Powers to decide planning applications could be withdrawn from a council after concerns over the speed at which it is making decisions.

The government has warned Portsmouth City Council that it could be "designated".

This would allow plans to be submitted to the planning inspectorate rather than the local authority.

The council has asked the government not to do so, amid fears the move would reduce local say in the city's future.

'Staffing shortages'

In a letter sent in response to the warning by the Department of Levelling Up, the city council's chief planner Ian Maguire said designation was "unnecessary" and "unreasonable".

The authority recognised that improvements were needed but said measures were being taken.

The warning came as the council failed to hit the government target of deciding 70% of non-major applications within time, with figures showing it managed 63.2% between September 2020 and September 2022, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The authority's backlog peaked at more than 300 applications one year ago and stood at about 200 in December last year.

The pandemic, nitrate mitigation measures and staffing shortages have all been blamed for the delays.

But the council said progress on its new local plan this year would add further support to planning policies, allowing decisions to be reached more quickly.