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24
Aug
Mayor planning powers ‘undemocratic’, says Harrogate councillor
A plan to give mayors power to overrule local councils on planning decisions is “undemocratic”, a senior Harrogate councillor has said.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is to give mayors in 13 areas, including York and North Yorkshire, the ability to ‘call in’ planning decisions on applications to build more than 150 homes, or develop more than 15,000 square metres of commercial space or buildings over 30 metres.
Currently Conservative-run North Yorkshire Council and Labour-controlled City of York Council are the planning authorities in the county.
It would mean David Skaith, Labour Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, would get more power at the expense of local authorities.
But, Cllr Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who chairs the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee, said the government’s plan would undermine the role of local planning committees.
He said:
It is undemocratic. What is the point of a local planning committee if it can be overruled from someone outside the area?
The move has led to criticism that the proposal would disempower councils and put more power in the hands of mayors and their combined authorities.
York and North Yorkshire mayor David Skaith
However, Mr Skaith said too many opportunities to build homes have been lost due to delays in the planning process.
He said:
Giving mayors more powers to get our region’s economies moving sooner is the right thing to do. Too many opportunities to build the homes we need, and create the jobs our residents deserve, are lost because of delays in the planning process.
I’ll always put what’s best for York and North Yorkshire first, including speeding up planning processes that are holding us back.
It comes as the Labour government pledged to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the decade following its election in July 2024.
The move led to ministers increasing North Yorkshire’s housing target from 1,361 homes a year to 4,156 a year, which has increased pressure on the council to identify land for new homes.
Labour housing minister Matthew Pennycook described the powers as an "essential part of the toolkit that mayors need to effectively deliver new homes and regeneration".
The new powers, which are similar to those already available to London mayor Sadiq Khan, will be available to mayors in the combined authorities in York and North Yorkshire, North East England, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, Greater Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, East Midlands, and Tees Valley.
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