Walsall Labour leader responds to ‘damning’ planning committee report
The Labour group leader at Walsall Council has responded to a ‘damning’ report on the authority’s planning committee.
Councillor Matt Ward has described the report as "nothing short of damning" and said "Walsall deserves better".
On June 7, a Planning Advisory Service report was published detailing an assessment of the authority’s planning services.
The review praised the council’s planning officers but raised several concerns about the planning committee, stating that it required a ‘fundamental overhaul’.
The report found that the committee was perceived to be operating with "undue influence and suspicions over probity and impartiality" and that it often undermined officers’ professionalism.
It also said the committee was abnormally large and had a much higher overturn decision rate than national averages.
Councillor Ward said: “The report confirms what residents, businesses and investors have suspected for too long: that the planning committee is plagued by perceptions of undue influence, blurred roles and political interference.
“Shockingly, almost half of all decisions made by the planning committee go against professional officer recommendations, a figure far above national norms, and 88 per cent of these are then overturned on appeal.
“This reckless approach doesn’t just damage our reputation as a place open for investment, it also wastes precious public money and undermines confidence in local democracy.
“As a Labour group, we will continue to hold the administration to account and press for the fundamental reform this damning report demands, to restore integrity, rebuild trust and put residents’ interests first.”
Councillor Mike Bird, leader of Walsall Council and chair of the planning committee, said: “If officers could make all the decisions, what is the point of the planning committee?
“It was me who changed the delegations to give the officers more power, and the committee now only decides on the major applications.
“Unfortunately, people forget that and the reason they do is because they never read the bloody reports.
“If you look at the peer review, 95 per cent shows that the planning department is excellent.
“It's gone on a journey, very much like children’s services, to get to the summit and they are almost to the summit of the mountain they were climbing. Quite honestly, we should be saying ‘well done’.”
