Issue - meetings

Scrutiny Workplan Item on Planning Decision Making

Meeting: 28/03/2023 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 662)

662 Scrutiny Workplan Item - Planning Decision Making PDF 172 KB

To consider the report of the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance (copy enclosed).

Minutes:

The purpose of this item was to review the Committee’s previous recommendations arising from this scrutiny item which had now been accepted by the Council without any decision as to how they might be implanted. The briefing note supporting this agenda item listed the individual matters accepted by the Council and suggested pathways for their implementation, as set out below. The endorsement of the Committee was requested.

Action	Implementation
Review and refresh of the Planning Appeals Protocol	Reference to the Performance, Governance and Audit Committee via its Working Group as this document is a component of the Council’s Constitution
Views and conclusions on Member Training – limited to concentrating on bespoke and specialised training	Reference to the Member Training Working Group, and for the attention of Directors in the preparation for and delivery of Member Training after the May elections
Review and improvement of Officer reports – including the possible introduction of technical presentations	Reference to the Director of Service Delivery and kept on a watching brief

The Chairman proposed a three-part recommendation as follows: i) That the Committee endorses the individual matters accepted by the Council and makes the suggested references for these actions. ii) That the Committee brings forward at a future date the other remaining conclusions arising from the scrutiny undertaken. iii) That the Committee retains planning decision making as a scrutiny workplan item going forward so that further work can be carried to add to that already completed and to facilitate bringing forward further recommendations to Council at a future date. This was duly seconded by Councillor C Mayes.

Councillor S J N Morgan then sought clarity around the chronology of the work being completed, particularly in view of the forthcoming elections, and it was noted that although the respective references could be made some preparatory work would be required on the review and refresh of the Planning Appeals Protocol.

After further discussion, Members were keen to see the 5 Year Housing Land Supply issue return to the Committee as a Scrutiny Workplan Item and a Member Scrutiny Request would be raised to achieve this.

There being no further discussion the Chairman put her proposal to the Committee and this was agreed by assent.

RESOLVED

i) That the Committee endorses the individual matters accepted by the Council and makes the suggested references (as set out above) for these actions.

ii) That the Committee brings forward at a future date the other remaining conclusions arising from the scrutiny undertaken.

iii) That the Committee retains planning decision making as a scrutiny workplan item going forward so that further work can be carried to add to that already completed and to facilitate bringing forward further recommendations to Council at a future date.