Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce has raised concerns over proposed reforms to the statutory consultee system in England’s planning process, warning that reducing the role of key consultees could create risks for both development and the environment.
The Chambers said the Government’s plans could sideline organisations such as Sport England and The Gardens Trust. It added that limiting other consultees to heritage, safety and environmental protection ‘can lead to one of many consequences, such as a real risk of moving away from interaction with nature, which is already established in legislation’.
Under current rules, local planning authority (LPA) teams refer validated planning applications to statutory consultees, who have 21 days to respond. The Chamber highlighted that delays in this turnaround, attributed to LPA capacity issues, have contributed to backlogs and stalled development.
In a letter to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Carl Copestake, a partner at Newcastle-under-Lyme-based Knights and chair of the Chambers’ Planning and Infrastructure forum, called for a mandatory 21-day turnaround for consultees to respond.
He wrote: “Rather than phasing out the role of consultees, we would like to call for change which would introduce a mandatory 21-day turnaround for consultees to respond and bringing an end to delays which effectively place the brakes on application progress.
“If a consultee fails to respond within the 21-day turnaround period, LPA teams should press ahead and determine the application, based on all of the information and evidence which has been provided at that point.”
The Chamber called for further training and support for LPAs to build knowledge and confidence, including peer learning, mentoring and shared practice resources, as well as a centrally coordinated pool of specialist advisors to help smaller authorities with limited staff expertise.
A tiered approach was proposed, ranging from clear standing advice and templates to light-touch support such as advice lines and in-depth support for complex or nationally significant schemes. The use of digital tools, including artificial intelligence, could also help officers navigate guidance more efficiently while maintainingprofessional judgement.
Carl, who is a Chartered Town Planner, wrote: “Whilst we emphasise that these tools should not replace professional judgement, they could significantly reduce the time required for non-specialists to understand complex guidance, whilst helping to free up scarce officer time for higher-value work.
“Support will be needed to ensure that local and strategic authorities can adopt and use these tools effectively, including training, clear governance on their use, and alignment with emerging national digital planning standards.”
