Following the Welsh Government’s decision to deny the call in request for the Pier Pavilion application to be determined by Welsh Ministers, Janet Finch-Saunders, Assembly Member for Aberconwy, has uncovered the fact that only one application was actually determined by Welsh Ministers during the last three years, prompting calls for a review of the criteria that has to be met.
Janet said:
“It is very concerning to find that the Welsh Government has only used its discretionary powers to determine 1 of 80 planning applications put forward for its possible consideration.
“Whilst I understand that these applications are considered on a case by case basis, and generally considered appropriate where an application raises issues of more than a local importance, I have no reason to question the professionalism of the staff who consider the requests.
“However, serious questions must be asked about the guidance the staff, and the Cabinet Secretary ultimately responsible for them, are working with”.
The Welsh Government’s policy on calling in planning applications is set out broadly in section 3.7.3 of Planning Policy Wales (Edition 9, November 2016)
“Going forward, I believe that it would be appropriate to review the criteria that has to be met for applications to be determined by Welsh Ministers, with the intention of allowing more applications which are reasonably considered by many as being of more than locally important, such as the Pier Pavillion application, to be determined nationally”.
Notes
Written Assembly Question by Janet:
Will the Cabinet Secretary state how many requests for planning applications to be determined by Welsh Ministers were received in 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18, and give the number of those actually considered?
Response by Lesley Griffiths, Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs:
The following table details the number of requests for planning applications to be called in during the financial years 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18.
(See attached document)
Pier Pavilion Application Call-In Request Denied by Cabinet Secretary
