Thank you for your interest in this story
To continue reading this article, sign up today to unlock exclusive content and be part of our community discussions
- Exclusive discounts
- Enjoy commenting on local issues
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
24
Oct 2023
'Rethink’ needed after another Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee cancelled
North Yorkshire Council’s system of delegating key planning decisions to officers needs a “rethink”, according to the chair of the Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee.
Cllr Pat Marsh’s comments come as the council has cancelled next week’s planning committee for the area due to a lack of agenda items.
Planning committees comprise of a group of cross-party councillors who are supposed to meet each month to make decisions on key planning applications.
But it is the third time a meeting has been cancelled since North Yorkshire Council was created in April to replace Harrogate Borough Council as the lead planning authority.
Councillors are able to call in contentious applications for committees to consider if there are sound planning reasons.
However, elected councillors across the county have been left frustrated due to far fewer applications being decided by the committees, which cover each parliamentary constituency area in North Yorkshire.
Cllr Marsh told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she has expressed her concern to officers in Northallerton regarding the issue.
She said:
Read more:
- Proposals for Harrogate Town Council expected next year
- Taxpayers set to foot £140,000 bill for three Harrogate Town Council consultations
According to a report by the Local Democracy Reporting Sserive in September, a council planning officer told a meeting there had been no attempt to try to block proposals going before councillors and officers were “trying to understand where those lines should be drawn”.
He added the authority would examine changing the balance over which planning applications should go before councillors.
The officer said:
0