| Topic: | :Front page article re. area planning committees | |
| Posted by: | David McLoughlin | |
| Date/Time: | 10/06/11 10:40:00 |
| The reasons for getting rid of the area planning committees are mainly financial. Very few planning decisions are called in by Councillors. Each area planning committee has to be attended by Planning officers on overtime. Much of the work done by the area planning committes e.g. CPZs will go to the area monitoring cttees. It's more efficient to centralise when so few applications are called in. £100,000 may be small beer but it's worth having. It includes the abolition of £32,000 of Councillors special responsibility allowances, which should raise a cheer from the Taxpayers Alliance. Sometimes Councillors on other area planning committees than Chiswick have 'called in' officers decisions because of a desire to be seen to do something for a constituent. That is, even when the developments that have been rejected are clearly in breach of planning guidelines and undesirable (e.g. overdevelopment of back gardens etc). Moving such decisions to the Sustainable Development Committee is a good idea if it reduces the number of such referrals. |