Agenda item

Councillor Manning resumed the chair.

The Committee considered the first monitoring report providing a factual overview of Planning Committee decisions and appeals data for two calendar years, 2019 and 2020 to date, which had been requested by the Chairman. The data focused on Planning Committee member overturns, which overturns ended up at appeal and whether any costs were sought and awarded. The report also looked at general appeals data for each year and the number and type of appeals received.

The report had also identified costs both for and against the Council and the quantum of costs where they had been settled. It was noted that these may well be from different years as the agreement on the final costs settlement could occasionally take a long time to resolve and often involve a costs draughtsman should the expectations of both parties be far apart. The report also highlighted the high success rate the Development Management team has had at appeal in both 2019 and 2020.

The Committee noted that, in 2019, 73 planning applications of varying complexity had been determined by the Planning Committee and, of these, 15 officer recommendations had been overturned by the Committee. These had mostly been from approval to refusal but occasionally vice versa.  Eleven applications were appealed, of which seven had subsequently been allowed by the Planning Inspectorate, but no costs had been awarded against the Council in respect of any of them.  Overall, the percentage of appeals dismissed in 2019 had been 72%.

The Committee noted that in relation to the plot 23 RSCH Hearing, the cost of the Council’s barrister had been £9,200 and the transport engineer’s costs were £1,600.  The cost of officer time was charged at between £50 and £125 per hour depending on the seniority of the officer involved.  It was suggested that information on such costs should be included in future reports.

In 2020, there had been 80 appeal decisions, of which 66 had been dismissed overall (82.5%), with 12 appeals allowed and two mixed decisions.  Up to the November Planning Committee meeting there had been twelve member overturns, but it was too early to advise on appeal outcomes and any associated costs.

The Committee noted that, at the Chairman’s request, the next report to the Committee would include data from 2018.

During the debate, the following points were raised:

·       The report was welcomed and the Council’s overall performance commended

·       The need for ongoing practical and collaborative training for Planning Committee members and officers was emphasised looking at specific examples of appeal decisions and learning points for the future

·       Regular (six monthly) update reports were requested

·       Details of officer appeals should be set out separately from member overturns at the Planning Committee in future update reports

Having considered the report, the Committee

RESOLVED:

(1)    That the contents of the report be noted.

(2)    That the next update report to the Committee on 22 April 2021 shall include comparative data for 2018 and set out details of appeals against officer refusals separately from details of appeals deriving from member overturns at the Planning Committee.

Reason:

To enable the Committee to monitor the Council’s performance on planning appeals.