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Parish Councils (Planning)

With more eloquence than I could muster, my hon. Friend makes exactly the point that I was trying to make, for which I am grateful. I want to consider planning in general because, as hon. Members from all parties have pointed out, it causes the most frustration for parish councillors, who feel that they simply do not get their point of view across. That happens even in the context of district councils, which are eager to hear local voices and effect their wishes. Somerset district council, which is one of two in my constituency, has led good practice. A long time ago, it established local area committees to devolve decision making lower than district council level to give local people an opportunity to be genuinely involved in planning decisions. Even in South Somerset, which I consider an example of good practice in planning, there are problems. That is largely due to the Government’s targets and the requirement for increasing the speed of resolving planning decisions beyond what is appropriate for the sort of area that I represent. I shall explain that. Clearly, it is not a bad thing for the Government to encourage district councils to make planning decisions as quickly as possible. It is reasonable to request that, but what is the consequence in respect of what district councils have to do to fulfil the Government’s requirements? First, there is the 21-day consultation process. I shall revert to that shortly, but 21 days is not a long time for a parish council to convene a meeting to take the appropriate soundings from people in the community and to respond in due course. Parish councils often have less than 21 days, because they are not statutory consultees but are statutorily notified. Some may view that as patronising. Secondly, there is a lack of access to planners. They have enormous work loads and cannot provide the same care and consultation as formerly for parish councils, applicants or anybody else. A common complaint is that people no longer have the same access to professional planning advice that they once had.