Central Bedfordshire Council agrees to adopt new planning rules 'under protest'

Although councillors from all political parties expressed “frustration and disappointment” with the new changes, the administration confirmed the authority must now work within mandatory national guidelines, instead of focusing efforts on fighting “against something we cannot change”.

They fear new parameters threaten to strip power from elected councillors to call-in controversial planning applications for public debate, instead handing control to planning officers.

Known as the National Scheme of Delegation (NSD), the widely-disputed mandatory ruling has raised broader concerns regarding devolution and centralisation, prioritising central decision overrule while threatening existing local autonomy.

During a full council meeting in late September, members voted in favour not to update the council’s constitution to align with the new national ruling. There were six votes in favour of the motion, with 20 votes against and 23 abstentions.

At a meeting last night (November 10), concerns for the proposed change were raised across all parties.

Councillor Steven Watkins (Independent) condemned the “dreadful decision” by central government, while council leader Adam Zerny (Independent) also outlined plans to write a formal complaint to government, expressing “how frustrated and disappointed” Central Bedfordshire Council is with the new scheme. The changes being actioned by the council, he expressed, are being done so “under protest”.

Given the delay in adopting the new policy, “we now have two issues”, councillor Kevin Collins (Conservative) warned. “Immediate legislation is now in force and we are not equipped to deal with it. And we have a long-term issue that we would like to see if there are better ways of dealing with it.”

The key goal is to help town parish councils and residents, stated Green Party councillor Susan Clinch. “That needs to be built into the system. We’ve spent so long objecting to something that we can’t object to, that we haven’t looked at what we’ve got and what we can do. I regret that.”

While the framework is now mandatory and set by central government, Central Bedfordshire councillors have demanded swift internal reviews and promise to actively seek ways to navigate the new changes to ensure continued fairness and transparency for residents.

The council committed to an early review to ensure its processes are fairly adapted to the new legislation.