Having only just absorbed, with anticipation and trepidation, the candidates nominated in the pending Local Government elections (04 May), the Welsh Government has legislated changes to the Size and Composition of Planning Committees. A strand of its Positive Planning programme.
The key (mandatory) elements that come into effect with newly composed Planning Committees from 04 May are:
- Planning committee can contain no fewer than 11 members and no more than 21 members, but no more than 50% of the authority members.
- Where wards have more than one elected member, only one member of that ward may sit on the planning committee, in order to allow other ward members to perform the representative role for local community interests.
There are exemptions for National Parks and where Local Authorities are made up of solely of multiple ward members (to maintain political balance).
Decisions made in committee’s which do not comply with the new Regulations will be open to challenge on validity grounds.
Other changes to Local Government Standing Orders will come into force alongside which require a 50% quorum and prohibit the use of substitute members.
