Table of Contents
Wirral councillors will hold an extraordinary council meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, 28 October) to debate government changes to who decides planning applications.
The meeting will be held at Wallasey Town Hall at 6pm tomorrow, and was called by 13 councillors.
Councillors want to discuss the government's National Scheme of Delegation for planning decisions, due to take effect on 31 October.
The scheme sets out which kinds of planning application must be decided by council planning officers, and limits when councillors on a planning committee can make the decision.
In their requisition letter, dated 6 October, the councillors said the changes have "implications for democratic accountability, public participation and the ability of elected Members to represent their communities in the planning process".
The motion, titled "True devolution in planning", is proposed by Councillor Simon Mountney, leader of the council's Conservative group, and seconded by Councillor Jeff Green, the group's deputy leader.
It says only 13 of the 907 planning applications Wirral Council received in 2025/26 were decided by its Planning Committee.
The motion argues that restricting councillors' role in that small number of cases "will not fix the wider planning system or build a single additional home".
It also notes that nationally only 19% of major planning applications were decided within the 13-week target between January and March this year.
If the motion is passed, the council would:
- Ask group leaders to write to the Secretary of State setting out the council's concerns and calling for local flexibility for applications of significant community concern
- Ask the chief planner to include details of the changes in letters to neighbours and consultees about planning applications
- Ask for a report on the impact of the new arrangements within six months
- Ask for guidance to all councillors, before 31 October, on how the scheme will work in Wirral
The 13 councillors who signed the requisition were Colin Baldwin, Gary Bennett, Max Booth, Helen Cameron, Tony Cox, Andrew Gardner, Jeff Green, Jenny Johnson, Ian Lewis, Simon Mountney, Cherry Povall, Lesley Rennie and Vida Wilson.
The council's Planning Committee meets the following evening, on Thursday 29 October. In July, councillors and neighbours questioned plans for a 22-person HMO in Tranmere.
The meeting will be webcast on the council's website.
