Councillors again refuse to adopt planning delegation reforms despite monitoring officer warnings

Monitoring officer Janet Witkowski told members in October that she would have to consider issuing a section 5 report under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 should they refuse the changes.

The National Scheme of Delegation introduces standardised rules governing which planning applications must be decided by officers (schedule 1 schemes) and which may be referred to planning committees (Schedule 2). Under the reforms, more decisions will be delegated to officers.

Councils were required to update their constitutions ahead of the new scheme taking effect on 31 October.

Tameside members previously refused to adopt the changes at a meeting late last month.

At a follow-up extraordinary meeting convened to discuss the amendments on Tuesday, members again refused to adopt the changes.

Ahead of the discussion, Witkowski reiterated her previous advice, which warned that failing to put the necessary arrangements in place meant the council was “acting unlawfully, as the Regulations clearly state that a local planning authority 'must' make those arrangements".

Her report added: “In addition, unless and until those arrangements are put in place, the Council cannot make lawful planning decisions. For this reason, no lawful planning decisions can be made on any planning applications under consideration until the matters are resolved and the Regulations complied with."

Speaking on Tuesday, she said: “Section 5 places duties on the role of monitoring officer to report to the authority any proposal, decision or omission that gives rise to a contravention of any enactment or rule of law and therefore it's incumbent on the monitoring officer to ensure that the council acts lawfully in Tameside.

“The role of monitoring officer lies with me, and I was duly appointed by this council to carry out those duties, and for the sake of absolute clarity it is a statutory role with personal statutory duties, and I'd also like to say that I take those duties very seriously.

“The report before council today is not at this stage a formal section 5 report, but it does however, require the council to reconsider the report and its recommendations presented to the meeting on the 26th October 2026.”

She added: “In summary, the arrangements must - and I use the word ‘must’ because that is what the regulations say - local planning authorities must make arrangements so that any Schedule 1 applications are determined by an officer of the authority, and that Schedule 2 applications are determined either by an officer or by a committee with a maximum of 13 members subject to the criteria which you are all fully aware of.”

She said her previous legal advice "remains unchanged, and I'd ask that you carefully consider and pay due regard to that advice.

“This clearly advises you all that failure to make the required arrangements set out in the regulations means that this council cannot make lawful planning decisions.”

She also asked councillors to consider confidential advice from King's Counsel, which she said confirmed that her previous advice was correct.

In the event that members refuse the amendments, Witkowski said she would consider what action she “may need to take under section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in terms of a formal report”.

“And I therefore ask that the council not only considers the reputational and financial implications of that but also the fact that it will remain in a position where it will not be able to make lawful planning decisions until the required arrangements are put in place to comply with the recommendations and therefore the law."

During the meeting, Tameside’s Conservative and Reform UK groups both argued against the changes.

The council’s Conservative Group leader, Cllr Andrea Colbourne, told the chamber that her party's position had not changed, stating that she believed voting against the constitutional changes was about protecting democratic accountability.

Reform UK party members also opposed adopting the scheme on local democracy grounds.

Tameside is currently run by Labour under a minority administration.

The council's Labour leader, Emily Wills, implored members to back the recommendations, stating that the new planning regulations were "no longer a proposal" but the "law of the land".

"By continuing to refuse these mandatory updates to our constitution, we are not making a brave political statement, we are choosing to operate unlawfully."

She added: "Local government does not control these powers. Local government does not control the law."

Members ultimately voted the recommendations down, with 29 voting against adopting them and 26 for.

Tameside is one of four councils known to have refused the constitutional changes.

Fenland, Central Bedfordshire, and Bolton councils also failed to make the amendments ahead of the 31 October deadline, despite officer advice.

Central Bedfordshire and Bolton are both scheduled to reconsider the amendments next week, while Fenland does not appear to have a discussion regarding the amendments scheduled.

Adam Carey