Plans to hand mayors new powers over planning decisions risk North East communities “losing even more control over what is built in their towns and villages”, Conservatives in Northumberland have claimed. Andy Burnham is set to give regional mayors like Kim McGuinness the authority to “call in” big planning applications and overrule local council decisions.
Proposed powers and scope
The proposed powers would apply to developments of more than 150 homes, commercial spaces of more than 15,000 square metres or any building 30 metres or taller. Ms McGuinness is known to be among the mayors backing the proposals, which come with the Government just over a quarter of the way towards its target of having 1.5 million new homes built in England in five years.
But the idea has sparked a backlash from leaders in Tory-run Northumberland, where housebuilding targets have been increased from 549 to 1,649 per year. The Tories complained that the move risked “weakening local control over development”.
Local concerns over development control
Coun Colin Horncastle, the county council’s cabinet member for housing and planning, said: “Northumberland is already being asked to accommodate around 1,700 new homes every year, almost three times the figure we were planning for when our existing Local Plan was drawn up. That is going to fundamentally change Northumberland, which is why it is so important that local communities have a genuine say over where development happens and what infrastructure comes with it.”
The South Tynedale representative added: “We absolutely need new homes, including affordable homes for local families, but they need to be the right homes in the right places, supported by roads, schools, GP surgeries and other infrastructure. The question I would ask people is simple: who do you want deciding what gets built in your town or village, your local councillors, who live in and represent our communities, or Kim McGuinness and the Mayoral Authority based in Newcastle? Devolution should mean bringing decisions closer to communities, not taking powers away from Northumberland and transferring them to a regional mayor.”
Mayoral authority response
Ms McGuinness has previously announced the creation of new mayoral development zones in order to speed up construction and unblock stalled building projects in central Newcastle and Gateshead, Durham’s Aykley Heads, and Sunderland’s riverside.
A spokesperson for her North East mayoral authority said on Monday: “The Government has today opened a consultation on the way planning applications are considered including the idea an elected mayor could in future intervene in a planning decision of potential strategic importance, in the same way a Government minister can intervene at present.
“We’ll be studying the detail of this consultation and working with a range of partners including local authorities who have a key role to play on this agenda before we respond because we want to make sure planning decisions are made in the right place for local people.”
Mr Burnham told the Sunday Times that he understood concerns about local councils being disempowered. The Prime Minister said: “Sometimes… challenge does need to be made to local decision-making, and actually it cuts both ways.
“It’s not all about Nimbyism. Sometimes it’s the other way round. It’s a local authority putting forward something that’s unacceptable in terms of the impact on the community… so it’s a two-way street.”
