HMO planning shake-up branded 'affront to democracy' by councillor
Reforms would see planning officers, not elected members, decide HMO applications.
A senior councillor has branded government plans to stop council planning committees deciding HMO applications an “affront to democracy”.
Portsmouth City Council will decide next week whether to comply with new legislation around how some planning applications are determined.
Under the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which received Royal Assent in December last year, the government has set out the National Scheme of Delegation (NSD).
The NSD splits planning applications in two: Schedule One and Schedule Two. After the reforms are implemented, Schedule One applications will be decided by planning officers, not a committee.
Schedule One applications include Houses in Multiple Occupation and other “minor residential developments”.
Schedule Two applications may be referred to a committee; they include listed building consent, major applications such as a regeneration scheme or a block of flats.
The government’s stated aim behind the NSD is to “ensure greater clarity and consistency” on the role of planning committees, which should “focus on the key proposals that matter to an area, enabling other, often more minor and technical, decisions to be made by planning officers”.
Critics have argued, however, that the move is anti-democratic, as it removes the ability of residents and councillors to scrutinise an application in an open forum.
Councillor Hugh Mason, cabinet member for planning policy, said he considers the NSD “an affront to democracy”.
The former Lord Mayor said the reforms will “change the whole dynamic” of how planning authorities have been run, as applications will be decided by professionals rather than elected members.
He lamented that groups of residents would not be able to challenge an application in committee, having their voices heard by members, and that councillors will no longer be able to call in an application to committee.
“I don’t see that it would increase efficiency either, it might shorten the time, because the planning department won’t have to prepare items for a committee.”
Last week, many members of the planning committee raised concerns over the reforms whilst determining contentious HMO applications.
One HMO was refused, despite being recommended for approval by officers, after Cllr Joe Standen discovered that it fell below the council’s space standards.
At the time, Cllr Mason said the insight “underlines the value of having a committee”.
The NSD will still allow residents and councillors to object to planning applications via the council’s planning portal, but objections will not result in an application being referred to committee.