Local Works announces success on a proposal to empower town, parish and community councils: http://www.localworks.org/node/141

On Tuesday of last week Stephen Williams (a Bristol MP, but a valleys boy originally) held a debate in Westminster Hall where he secured an agreement from the Communities Minister, Greg Clark, on the proposal made under the Sustainable Communities Act to give new powers to Town and Parish Councils to help them properly assess major planning applications that will affect their areas. (See the full background in a pdf here)

Closing the debate, Mr Clark said: “We have set out a requirement that there will be compulsory pre-application scrutiny for major applications […]. We will shortly publish details of how we propose to interpret that provision through the regulations, and my hon. Friend will find that our proposals would make it clear to any applicant that the requirement to engage with communities properly, rather than superficially, is absolutely there.

“Let me briefly make a point about the funding side of things. It is not the Government’s policy to compel developers or applicants to make contributions outside the usual means of paying for the scrutiny of planning applications, but it is clearly open to the developer—the applicant—and the town and parish council to have a voluntary arrangement that would assist with the kind of community engagement we all agree is desirable, not least on the part of applicants. The Localism Act—again reflecting the spirit of the Sustainable Communities Act—also provides that a meaningful proportion of the revenues from the community infrastructure levy will have to go directly to neighbourhoods, including town and parish councils, where there is one. The financial resources available to town and parish councils are therefore about to change substantially.” (NB: “town and parish” does include “community”; I have checked with the sponsors of the debate.)

There was another item of good news yesterday. At the meeting of the Planning and Development Control Committee, Councillor Woolcock stated that the section of the Localism Act which relaxed the rules on pre-determination applies throughout England and Wales. This should mean that henceforward councillors with a dual mandate can take part in discussion of planning applications on community council without thereby debarring themselves from later debate and voting on the county borough’s planning committee. Much as I enjoy my little chats in the lobby with Councillors Janice Dudley and Doreen Jones, it is annoying to be expelled from meetings of Blaenhonddan CC when planning is under discussion.

However, I am now rather confused. I was under the impression that no part of the Localism Act applied to Wales. We clearly need some guidance from the county borough’s legal department as to whether we will have all the increased powers granted to our fellows over the border, and I understand a seminar is planned.

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