Amos hits out over 'missing' Highways at planning meetings

Cllr Alan Amos argues Highways officers should attend planning meetings as a matter of course so they can be questioned properly, ensuring the committee makes the best decisions on behalf of the people of Worcester.

Now Cllr Amos, who sits on Worcester City Council's planning committee, has urged County Highways, part of Worcestershire County Council, to reinstate the 'long-established practice'.

However, Marc Bayliss, the county council's Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, defended the council's position, arguing that planning officers would continue to attend 'where this is important or where the chair of the planning committee considers it contentious or of wider public interest'.

CONCERN: Cllr Alan Amos believes it is essential Highways officers attend Worcester City Council planning meetings (Image: James Connell/Newsquest photos)

Cllr Amos, the county councillor for Bedwardine and city councillor for Lower Wick and Pitmaston, said: "Highways officers attending planning committees is a very long-established practice and has worked well.

"It is an essential and vital part of the whole planning process which, as a quasi-judicial Council function, must be strictly adhered to at all times.

"Highways are a statutory consultee on all planning applications and whether planning permission is granted or refused often depends very heavily on what the recommendation is specifically from Highways.

"If they are not present, councillors cannot challenge or ask questions and so cannot – and should not - make a decision if they do not have all the facts.

"Increasingly, Highways nowadays don’t object to anything and wave everything through but most of the most contentious applications hang on the issue of parking and other highways issues."

CLEAR: Cllr Marc Bayliss has given an explanation of Worcestershire County Council's position on Highways officers attending planning meetings  (Image: Supplied)

Cllr Amos, who also served as a city mayor, said: "The planning committee always attracts the greatest number of residents and interest because planning applications make such a significant and permanent change to every community.

"Although Highways hint that they may attend some of the major applications, it will be up to them to decide what, if any,  is important or convenient for themselves. No matter how small an application may appear, it often has a serious and lasting impact on the local community, such as Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs or student houses) which can blight a neighbourhood for good.

"So, for that community, what Highways define as a small application which they won’t attend, is actually of major importance for a local area.

"The whole planning process is already heavily stacked against ordinary residents and in favour of developers, and this latest move only reinforces the strong bias against residents in favour of developers. We must stick to the current system that has proven to work, with one sister council supporting and working together with another as partners."

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Cllr Marc Bayliss, cabinet member for Highways and Transport at Worcestershire County Council, said: “As the statutory consultee for highways, Worcestershire County Council review planning applications submitted to the district councils (Local Planning Authorities), and provide comments and recommendations for the districts to use as part of their wider assessment of the individual planning applications.  

"If an application is to be determined by committee, local planning authorities make a recommendation based on all the evidence before them including from the full range of statutory consultees.

"There is no requirement of statutory consultees to attend planning committees and the county council have never stated that they will not attend future committees.   

"The council will continue to attend where this is important or where the chair of the planning committee considers it contentious or of wider public interest, balancing demands with resources and avoiding situations where attendance does not add any value.”