Independent review calls for ‘fundamental overhaul’ of Walsall’s planning committee

The report praises the council’s planning officers but raises several concerns about the planning committee.

The assessment, called in by the authority’s previous leader Councillor Garry Perry, was carried out by the Planning Advisory Service, part of the Local Government Association.

The planning committee is currently chaired by Councillor Mike Bird, also the leader of Walsall Council.

The report called for a ‘fundamental overhaul’ of the planning committee to address several issues identified during the assessment.

The report repeatedly highlighted that there is a perception held, both internally and externally, that the planning committee is operating with ‘undue influence and suspicions over probity’.

It also said the reviewers ‘consistently heard’ concerns about ‘impartiality’ which ‘casts a dark cloud’ over the council, severely affecting its reputation.

The report said there is a commonly held perception that councillors almost act as planning agents and have discussions outside of the formal application and committee process.

The assessors heard from ‘multiple sources’ that if applicants are unhappy, the tendency is to go ‘straight to the chair or planning committee councillors to intervene’.

While many concerns were raised about the planning committee operations, the review noted the continuous improvements in the council’s planning officers.

It said the department had made ‘substantial progress’ since the last peer challenge in 2021.

The assessors found that officers were ‘happy and engaged’ with ‘high levels of professionalism’.

But when cases were brought to the planning committee, the assessors found that officers were being undermined.

The report said: “We observed a number of committee meetings when speakers, councillors on the committee or the chair were seeking to act as technical experts, interjecting frequently, and putting forward anecdotal or subjective evidence on technical matters and undermining professional view on the levels of harm, or mitigation measures.

“We also observed a number of incidents when councillors questioned their officer’s professionalism. This nature of debate leads to negative perception and is not seen as the council being open for business.

“The distinction between the roles and responsibilities of officers and members in the planning process needs to be defined, documented, understood and respected by all.”

Data collected in the review showed that when council planning officers make a recommendation to either refuse or approve the application, when it goes to committee, that recommendation is overturned 49 per cent of the time.

Nationally, only around 10 per cent of officer recommendations are overturned by committees.

When the committee refuses a planning application by going against officers’ recommendations, if the applicant appeals to the planning inspector, 88 per cent of the appeals are upheld.

In other words, in the vast majority of appeal cases, the committee’s refusal is overturned and the original officer recommendation is reinstated. These levels are not replicated when officers make decisions.

The report also noted that the current committee is ‘abnormally large’ with 21 councillors.

The PAS recommends that the committee be reduced to a smaller highly trained committee which reflects the political balance of the council, rather than ward representatives.

Walsall Council has produced its action plan following the review, although many of the moves are likely to be superseded by the emerging Planning and Infrastructure Bill aiming to reforming the national planning system.

Some of the actions include reviewing and updating the planning protocols within the constitution, delivering member training, reducing the committee size by 50 percent, updating the members call-in form used to bring items to the committee, and improving its communications strategy.

Councillor Adrian Andrew, deputy leader of Walsall Council, said: “We are very proud of the progress our planning service has made.

“This recognition reflects the hard work of our officers and our commitment to delivering a planning service that supports regeneration, growth, innovation, and community wellbeing.

“Walsall is open for business and we are ready to support the borough’s future.”