Agenda item

A Member asked, going forward, how procedurally difficult or resource-intensive it would be to re-do a statutory consultation if the scheme had not been progressed after a year or more. The Chief Planning Officer and Development Director advised that it would be possible to do so, although officers were also wary of the risks of consultation fatigue, particularly where the proposals in question had not changed from that previously consulted on. The Chief Planning Officer and Development Director acknowledged that the application in respect of 200 Aldersgate was an unusual case. The Deputy Chair added that all Members of the Court of Common Council were appraised of applications relevant to their ward and to some extent Ward Members were responsible for keeping their constituents updated.

A Member then requested that the Committee revert to having a distinct section for questions of officers within the procedure for considering applications, as they did not want to anticipate answers to questions asked during the debate. The Chairman responded that there had previously been issues with this previously caused by Members making statements that should have reserved for the debate during this period, creating a degree of conflation. The Chairman added however that he was always willing to review Committee process and would take this into consideration for the next meeting.

With regards to meeting arrangements, a Member noted that the Chairman had sought the Committee’s views on meeting arrangements via email. The Member voiced their strong opposition to any kind of limit on Member contributions, and asked when a public consultation on the Committee’s governance arrangements would be undertaken, as well as seeking clarification on the threshold for objections before submitting an application to Committee. The Member then thanked officers for their response in respect of the Bury House application.

The Town Clerk confirmed that the Court of Common Council had agreed to raise the threshold for objections before an application was submitted to Committee as part of the revisions to the corporate Scheme of Delegations agreed at the meeting in December 2021.

The Chairman added that a report on the Committee’s governance arrangements would be submitted to the Court of Common Council after the summer recess, adding that he had no intention of stifling debate and aimed to be inclusive, thanking the Member for expressing their view and inviting them to provide their view on other considerations alongside those surveyed.