Since 31 October, a councillor's request or five objections no longer sends a Warwick district planning application to committee. A two-person panel now decides.

Warwick district councillors can no longer send a planning application to committee by asking for it. Nor can five objections from neighbours, or a parish or town council disagreeing with officers.

All of those rules ended on Saturday 31 October, when a national scheme of delegation came into force across England. From now on, most applications in Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth will be decided by council officers. Only cases that pass a new legal test can reach the planning committee.

Full council approved the changes to its constitution on Wednesday 28 October, according to its summary of decisions. The council had little choice. The government’s guidance warns that a committee decision on a case the rules say officers must decide risks being quashed in the courts.

The old triggers, and what replaced them

Until last week, the council’s scheme of delegation, known as DS70, sent an application to committee in nine situations. They included:

  • any district councillor asking in writing, with reasons, within the 21-day consultation period
  • five or more valid objections against the officers’ recommendation
  • a parish or town council taking the opposite view to officers, unless the plans were changed to meet its concerns
  • a departure from the Local Plan
  • applications from councillors, council staff or the council itself

Those rules are set out, struck through, in Appendix 1 to Cabinet minute 66 of the Cabinet meeting on 22 October. All of them have gone.

The national rules sort applications into two schedules:

Schedule Typical applications Who decides
Schedule 1 House extensions, minor commercial changes, one to nine homes on under half a hectare, conditions, prior approvals Always an officer
Schedule 2 Larger schemes, listed building consent, advertisements, tree preservation consents An officer, unless the panel refers it

The only exception is an “own-interest” application, made by or connected with the council, its councillors or its staff.

The new Planning Applications Panel

Schedule 2 cases now go through a Planning Applications Panel of two people: the chair of the planning committee and the council’s Development Manager, or their substitutes.

The council’s Head of Place, Arts and Economy first picks out the Schedule 2 applications that might pass the test. The council decided against sending every Schedule 2 case to the panel. The Cabinet minutes say that was so it does not “become overwhelmed with multiple cases” that were never likely to qualify.

The panel can send a case to committee only if both members agree it meets at least one of two tests in the regulations:

  • Test A: it “raises an economic, social or environmental issue of significance to the local area”
  • Test B: it “raises a significant planning matter having regard to the development plan and any other material considerations”

Warwick has made one choice of its own. Every own-interest application, whatever its size, will go to the panel, which decides whether committee should hear it “in the interests of transparency and openness”. The council’s addendum says that was “a matter of choice”, permitted by the regulations.

The committee will also receive regular reports listing the cases the panel considered and what it decided. The government’s guidance says councils should publish that record on their websites.

What the 14 October committee would look like now

The difference shows up in the council’s last few agendas. At its 14 October meeting, the planning committee decided or deferred six applications. Three were extensions or outbuildings at people’s homes:

  • a side extension at 3 Newnham Road, Lillington, approved
  • a garage and office at 9 Telford Avenue, Lillington, deferred to talk about the entrance and parking
  • extensions in the Green Belt at The Moorings, Old Warwick Road, Lapworth, refused

Under the new rules, householder applications like those are Schedule 1. An officer decides them, and no councillor or panel can move them to committee.

What councillors said

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee looked at the change before Cabinet. The Cabinet minutes record that it:

  • “expressed disappointment regarding the removal of power from local representatives”
  • stressed transparency on the process and the decisions
  • asked for the new process to be explained to residents, and for residents to keep commenting on applications
  • added a review to its work plan for 12 months’ time, covering appeals, complaints and challenges

The portfolio holder for place replied that transparency and communication would be “critical” over the coming months.

What it means for you

  • Keep commenting. Objections and support still count, and the officer must weigh every valid planning point. But the number of objections no longer decides who takes the decision.
  • Asking your councillor to “call it in” will not work for a house extension or a small housing scheme. For a larger one, your councillor can still raise it, but only the two-person panel can send it to committee.
  • Your town or parish council’s view still matters as a consultee, but disagreeing with officers no longer triggers a committee hearing.
  • Watch the panel record. It will show which cases were considered for committee and why. We will report what it shows.

You can find and comment on applications through the council’s planning register, and we cover the bigger ones on our Leamington planning news page.

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