Major proposals to change the way that planning applications in the Maldon district are decided have been refused, after a lengthy debate in which councillors cited concerns about the current system.

Members of Maldon District Council (MDC) came to the decision at a full council meeting last night (Thursday, 2 September), after saying that the proposals would diminish local input from ward members on planning decisions.

The proposals would have seen the current three area planning committees - central, north western and south eastern - removed and the formation of a single committee covering the district.

Councillor Kevin Lagan said: "I can't support this and I feel we will be letting the members of the public down."

He said that "representation via election into individual committees" is "absolutely critical to represent the residents' views".

But other councillors raised concerns about the current consistency of decision-making across the three committees.

Councillor Mark Durham said: "It is absolutely staggering how different area committees operate - the attitudes of members towards the application of planning is really quite marked.

"If this continues, we are certain to face challenges at some point in the future and, whether we like it or not, there is a real risk that our ability to determine our own applications in the future may be removed from us."

They also discussed their duty to follow the Local Development Plan (LDP), despite residents' views.

Councillor Maddie Thompson said: "I think there's a tendency to lose sight of the fact that planning is not a democratic process - it involves planning law.

"We cannot do what we think is right for our local residents, we must do what is right for the district as a whole as set out in our policies."

The proposed changes were put together in a report by the Corporate Governance Working Group, in consultation with the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) and the Local Government Association (LGA).

Presenting the report at the meeting, Councillor Richard Siddall said the proposals would "ensure good practice and consistency when making planning decisions" while making sure that "members can be more objective in their decision-making".

He added: "One planning committee will enable legal representation at every meeting, improving the legal basis of decisions."

The report stated that at least £41,703 would be saved by MDC each year by adopting the single planning committee structure and having a legal presence.

Councillors also considered communication issues between committees, particularly regarding "excessive call-ins" - when planning applications are called in to be heard by the area committees.

Councillor Christopher Swain told members "we need to make the current system work better".

He said "excessive call-ins" are "partly a failure of communication because parish committees perhaps don't trust what the officers may do on an application" so they call it in to ensure it is "properly discussed".

He added that "every member can and should be up to scratch on how to deal with a planning application" and how to build a case for their position based on the LDP and "an understanding of material considerations".

Recommending refusal of the changes, Councillor Sue White said: "It is vitally important as members that we keep our democracy and we keep our decision-making."

Councillor White's proposal was voted through with 13 councillors for, 7 against and 1 abstention.

This means that the changes cannot be considered again by MDC for at least another six months.