Agenda item

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 8, to allow members of the public to ask questions about the Council’s activities for a period of up to fifteen minutes.  A question may only be asked if notice of seven clear working days has been given.

Question submitted by Tony Trafford to the Deputy Leader Councillor Duncan McGregor

Question submitted by Sarah Bister to the Deputy Leader Councillor Duncan McGregor.

Question submitted by Tony Trafford to the Deputy Leader, Councillor Duncan McGregor;

In a recent planning committee meeting dated 10th March 2021, Cllr McGregor said, “Trees – this Council is on record that it is wanting to plant trees everywhere”, regarding trees on an applicant’s site that was being considered for development. Is the Council committed to the preservation and planting of healthy trees throughout the District?

Response from Councillor McGregor

“Thank you Tony for your question.  The Council’s Local Plan Policy SC10 states - In order to help retain local distinctiveness, trees, woodland and hedgerows will be protected from damage and retained unless it can be demonstrated that removal is necessary and appropriate mitigation can be achieved”. 

“We take this commitment seriously and apply this policy rigorously to all development proposals that are likely to affect trees, woodland and hedgerows anywhere in the District.  The Council has also just secured funding from the Woodland Trust to promote a new community woodland project and help the Council reach its ambition in planting 1 million new trees across the District.  Therefore, there should be no doubt the Council is committed to the preservation and planting of healthy trees throughout the District.  The Council cares about trees and exciting work with the Woodland Trust on developing a series of community woodlands in the District, demonstrates this.  We have recently secured at £270k cash boost from the Woodland Trust to be awarded this, part due to our enthusiasm for and commitment to caring for trees.  This funding will see in the region of 27.5k trees being planted on land south of Creswell, on a former colliery site; land that can provide a flagship environmental resource for the village with a community woodland at its heart with work starting later this year.  The Council also intends to see at least 1 tree planting project in each parish of the District and discussions are ongoing with the parishes to achieve this over the coming years”. 

“You may have seen this particular press release Tony, that was sent out which demonstrates the point I have just made”.

Supplementary Question from Tony Trafford

“I very much welcome the statement that Councillor McGregor has made about planting trees and also the reference to preservation of trees.  In the light of that, I wanted to ask whether the Council would support Glapwell Parish Council’s bid, to maintain the asset of community value, which is Park Avenue Wood and help preserve the 13 mature and magnificent beech trees there and the wildlife that they in turn support?  This is an important community asset”.

Response from Councillor McGregor

“Yes, I am aware of that planning application referred to.  That planning application, I’ll remind you, has been approved for development but I draw your attention back to that I already mentioned, unless it can be demonstrated that removal is necessary and appropriate mitigation can be achieved.  Regarding any planning application where trees are involved, the Planning Committee takes into account the trees that could be affected whether they are healthy or otherwise”.

Question submitted by Sarah Bister to the Deputy Leader, Councillor Duncan McGregor;

“I’d like to refer Members to my question and answer given at the meeting of Council in September 2020 which I have included for your reference. Please can the Deputy Leader detail the planning training that Members have to undergo prior to considering applications such as this, are refreshers provided to reflect changes in laws and any Local Plan changes, and any reasons why Planning Committee members may not always take qualified officers advice?”

COUNCIL MINUTE CL22-20/21A – September 2020

a) Question from Sarah Bister to the Leader of the Council:

“Will the council do as the MP Mark Fletcher has suggested and send the planning decision19/00583/OUT to an independent peer review hence demonstrating your commitment to put residents first?"

The Leader of the Council thanked Sarah Bister for her question. He explained that the Council has to build 272 houses a year, maintain a five year plan of housing supply, and plan for the future in an ever-changing world. This is all done with the aims of giving all residents somewhere to live, cater for a growing population, and ensure the houses are built to an acceptable standard.

The Leader of the Council added that he had asked the Monitoring Officer for guidance on the appropriateness of the Planning Application. The Monitoring Officer had informed him that the decision was taken by the Planning Committee in a fully transparent and accountable manner. The reasons for the decision were set out in the decision notice and were made on proper Planning grounds, and the local highway authority were satisfied that the application would give adequate access to the site via Park Avenue. For these reasons, the Monitoring Officer advised that the findings of a peer review would find that the Council took the decision correctly.

The Leader of the Council acknowledged that some residents were not happy with the decision, but this did not mean it was incorrect in Planning terms. He added that Planning decisions are taken with material Planning considerations in mind, which can cause conflict with local communities, but decisions must be taken based on Government guidance and Planning law. He added that an independent peer review would not be able to change the granting of Planning permission.

The Leader of the Council concluded by stating that he did not agree with the comments made by Mark Fletcher MP.

The Chair invited Sarah Bister to ask one supplementary question. Sarah Bister asked that if the decision was as transparent and correct as described, why not peer review it?

The Leader of the Council responded by saying he was confident the proper process had been adhered to and had full trust in the guidance given by Planning officers and the Monitoring Officer. He referred to the previously mentioned housing numbers the Council had to meet, and in particular the obligations on housing created by the developing Local Plan.

Response from Councillor McGregor

“Although it is not mandatory, Members do receive planning training from officers before they join the planning committee, including training on the decision making process in a planning context.  The importance of the Local Plan as the starting point for any decision, committee procedures and protocol are the responsibilities a Member takes on when they join the Planning Committee.  In addition, officers often provide Members with updates on important changes to the planning system and refresher training on various technical planning matters, including design standards, section 106 legal agreements and the recently adopted Local Plan.  We are also in the process of planning our training programme for Members for the next civic year.  In terms of decision making, the Planning Committee mostly deals with planning applications that are contentious because the development proposals give rise to conflicting or competing interests.  Decisions on these applications are often finely balanced and it is important these decisions are taken in a transparent and accountable way, by elected Members, in public rather than behind closed doors.  However, Members are obliged to avoid favouring any party interested in the application or predetermining an application before it is considered fully at Planning Committee – which also means Members are entitled to take a different view on a development proposal or the weight they give to the different aspects of the proposals compared to their colleagues on all the points made in representations on an applications.  Equally, Members are entitled to take a different view from the advice offered by officers verbally, in the meeting itself, officers’ recommendations in a committee report or deviate from the local plan, for example, providing they can give justified planning reasons based on material planning considerations.  In these cases, Members of the Planning Committee take on the role of the decision maker and the final decision is taken on a vote after considering all the relevant arguments, for and against a particular development proposal with due regard to relevant guidance and any appropriate advice offered by officers.  Although not everyone may agree with the decisions made by the Planning Committee, this process ensures that any decision taken by Members is not only made through a fully transparent and democratic process but is also made on proper planning grounds.  For these reasons, Members may take a different view from officers at planning committee but they are fully qualified to do so”.

“Some statistics – number of current Members on Planning Committee who have attended training on planning – all current Members of planning committee – 16, have undertaken training either in September 2020 or one of the sessions held in the second half of 2019.  Members who have been invited to attend planning training who are not Members of the current planning committee – all Councillors were invited to attend a training session held on 15^th October 2019.  Our records show that 8 Councillors who are not currently Members of the Planning Committee attended some form of planning training during 2019/20.  Do we have a policy/advice, advising Members to attend planning training? – The Councillor Code of Conducts sets out training that Councillors should undertake – this includes that training should be undertaken prior to sitting on planning committee.  I hope that all Members of this Council take note of that particular point that I have referred to there.  I would add that there is a planning committee training for Planning Committee Members scheduled for June 2021”.

Supplementary Question from Sarah Bister

“Does the training include that site visits should be attended so you get a better picture of the site to assess it for suitability as opposed to a windfall?  I see the Deputy Leader didn’t attend the site visit, so I wondered how he had knowledge of Park Avenue that overruled the officers’ decision?

Response from Councillor McGregor

“Regarding site visits, all Members are entitled to visit site meetings, it’s not compulsory.  Site visits are basically to give the concept of the geographical outset of where that planning application is to build a house or whatever but there are such things as maps that the Members can take advantage of and the use of IT now to draw down on any sites in the District if they wish to.  A lot of Members who don’t go on site visits actually may live in that area and know that area themselves anyway.  So the site meetings are important in terms of familiarisation of any site but at the end of the day during the planning committee process, every advantage in terms of giving the Member as much knowledge as possible regarding the application is afforded to them to make the decision”.