3 minutes reading time
(673 words)
Planning by Opinion: Are Councils Fit to Decide?
Article by Hamish McLay, conveyancing collaborator
All across the UK, planning committees are making weighty decisions about where and how we build. These committees carry real authority – they can green-light or block major projects, from new-build flats to cladding remediation schemes. But here’s the catch: many of the people on them aren’t planners, builders, architects, or engineers. They’re elected councillors, and often, they’re relying on instinct over insight.
When Experience Isn’t Part of the Process
It’s not their fault. Planning committee members don’t need any qualifications in planning or construction to sit on these panels. They’re there to represent local people and vote on planning matters. Yet sometimes, what they feel is right can run headlong into what the facts say.
Professional planning officers typically review and recommend outcomes based on technical reports and local development frameworks. But at committee level, those recommendations can be overturned – and often are – without strong planning grounds. That can send projects into costly appeals or bring them to a complete halt.
This isn’t about criticising individuals. It’s about asking whether the current structure is fit for a housing system that’s already under enormous pressure.
Five Planning Realities We Shouldn’t Ignore
1. Different Places, Different Rules
Each council decides how it handles planning referrals. One may send an application to committee if six neighbours object. Another might need a councillor to ‘call it in’. There’s no national standard – just a patchwork of approaches, which can lead to inconsistency.
2. Training Is Only Just Coming In
The idea of mandatory training for planning committee members is now on the table – and frankly, long overdue. Knowing what counts as a valid planning concern (and what doesn’t) is essential if decisions are to hold up under scrutiny.
3. Officers Know the Plans Inside Out
There’s a strong case for giving more weight to officer recommendations, especially where the application clearly aligns with the adopted local plan. Let the experts handle what’s routine – keep committees for the thorny, nuanced, or community-sensitive stuff.
4. Planners Are Thinning Out
Local authorities are losing talented staff to the private sector, where workloads are lower and salaries are higher. Those who remain are under pressure. When expertise is in short supply behind the scenes, committees need to lean on it – not override it.
5. Trust Matters in the Built Environment
Residents trust councils to make fair, evidence-led decisions. When a committee dismisses professional advice with little explanation, that trust starts to wobble. Consistency, clarity and competence are key to restoring it.
Why This Links to Cladding
If you’re living in a building affected by unsafe cladding, you know how essential it is to move quickly. But remediation work often needs planning approval. If that approval is delayed – or refused without strong reason – people remain in unsafe homes, with rising insurance and unmanageable bills.
Stephen Day from Royal Artillery Quays (RAQ) returns as our resident guest on Cladding Matters this week. As always, he brings first-hand insight into what it’s like to wait on decisions that can impact your safety and your financial stability. Also joining us today are Wendy Gibson of The First Time Buyers Club, concerned about what she can advise first time buyers in the current circumstances and also Zahrah Aullybocus, a property lawyer with extensive experience who also helps buyers through the maze.
I’ll be joined again by our chair and podcast director Gareth Wax for a clear-eyed look at whether our planning system needs a rethink. The episode airs Friday at 1pm, and the recording will be available to catch up on afterward. Additional contributors may join us – we’ll announce them as confirmed.
PS:
For content enquiries:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For podcast/media info:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Never miss an episode of Spilling The Proper-Tea again, subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch up or watch live -
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All across the UK, planning committees are making weighty decisions about where and how we build. These committees carry real authority – they can green-light or block major projects, from new-build flats to cladding remediation schemes. But here’s the catch: many of the people on them aren’t planners, builders, architects, or engineers. They’re elected councillors, and often, they’re relying on instinct over insight.
When Experience Isn’t Part of the Process
It’s not their fault. Planning committee members don’t need any qualifications in planning or construction to sit on these panels. They’re there to represent local people and vote on planning matters. Yet sometimes, what they feel is right can run headlong into what the facts say.
Professional planning officers typically review and recommend outcomes based on technical reports and local development frameworks. But at committee level, those recommendations can be overturned – and often are – without strong planning grounds. That can send projects into costly appeals or bring them to a complete halt.
This isn’t about criticising individuals. It’s about asking whether the current structure is fit for a housing system that’s already under enormous pressure.
Five Planning Realities We Shouldn’t Ignore
1. Different Places, Different Rules
Each council decides how it handles planning referrals. One may send an application to committee if six neighbours object. Another might need a councillor to ‘call it in’. There’s no national standard – just a patchwork of approaches, which can lead to inconsistency.
2. Training Is Only Just Coming In
The idea of mandatory training for planning committee members is now on the table – and frankly, long overdue. Knowing what counts as a valid planning concern (and what doesn’t) is essential if decisions are to hold up under scrutiny.
3. Officers Know the Plans Inside Out
There’s a strong case for giving more weight to officer recommendations, especially where the application clearly aligns with the adopted local plan. Let the experts handle what’s routine – keep committees for the thorny, nuanced, or community-sensitive stuff.
4. Planners Are Thinning Out
Local authorities are losing talented staff to the private sector, where workloads are lower and salaries are higher. Those who remain are under pressure. When expertise is in short supply behind the scenes, committees need to lean on it – not override it.
5. Trust Matters in the Built Environment
Residents trust councils to make fair, evidence-led decisions. When a committee dismisses professional advice with little explanation, that trust starts to wobble. Consistency, clarity and competence are key to restoring it.
Why This Links to Cladding
If you’re living in a building affected by unsafe cladding, you know how essential it is to move quickly. But remediation work often needs planning approval. If that approval is delayed – or refused without strong reason – people remain in unsafe homes, with rising insurance and unmanageable bills.
Stephen Day from Royal Artillery Quays (RAQ) returns as our resident guest on Cladding Matters this week. As always, he brings first-hand insight into what it’s like to wait on decisions that can impact your safety and your financial stability. Also joining us today are Wendy Gibson of The First Time Buyers Club, concerned about what she can advise first time buyers in the current circumstances and also Zahrah Aullybocus, a property lawyer with extensive experience who also helps buyers through the maze.
I’ll be joined again by our chair and podcast director Gareth Wax for a clear-eyed look at whether our planning system needs a rethink. The episode airs Friday at 1pm, and the recording will be available to catch up on afterward. Additional contributors may join us – we’ll announce them as confirmed.
PS:
For content enquiries:
For podcast/media info:
Never miss an episode of Spilling The Proper-Tea again, subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch up or watch live -
https://www.youtube.com/@SpillingTheProper-Tea
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