Birkdale councillor Simon Shaw calls planning changes a ‘backward step’

 The way local planning applications are decided sees a big change from the weekend, and Birkdale Lib Dem councillor Simon Shaw says it's a "backward step".

Until 31 October 2026 local residents who were unhappy with a nearby planning application you could approach one of their local councillors and ask them to "call in" the application.  This meant that the full Planning Committee would get to consider the application rather than it being decided by council planning officers alone.  If they wished. the resident or residents would be able to speak before the Planning Committee to voice their objections.

"However, this all changes from 1 November" says Simon.

"New rules brought in during the dying days of the Starmer Labour Government mean that virtually all planning decisions that are currently democratically scrutinised by planning committees are now made behind closed doors by unelected officers.  All sorts of applications previously considered in public by our local Planning Committee have now been taken out of councillors' hands in all but ‘exceptional circumstances’.   That's a major backward step."

"The ability of local ward councillors to 'call in' applications has now disappeared.  This means the public lose their right to speak for a few minutes in front of those deciding on the future of their local area."

At the September meeting of Sefton Council Councillor Shaw and the 17-strong Lib Dem Group moved an amendment voicing opposition to the Government's changes which take away from democratically-elected planning committees the ability to decide planning applications, except in very exceptional circumstances.  All the opposition councillors supported the Lib Dem amendment but it was narrowly defeated by the controlling Labour group.