COUNCILLORS have given their support to spending around £5,000 a year on being given the opportunity to make decisions on some Wellington-based planning applications.

Wellington Town Council has for several years entered into an agreement with the Somerset West and Taunton Council that allows it to say “yes” or “no” to some planning applications without referral back to the district authority.

But the agreement comes with a number of conditions including the fact that a planning officer has to be present at meetings to provide advice and guidance to the town council while it determines applications.

Councillors were told at their meeting on January 9 that the town council pays Somerset West and Taunton Council £150 per planning meeting.

But now – with the onset of the Somerset Council unitary authority coming into effect on April 1 – they have been told that that figure could rise to nearly £400 per meeting.

A town council report said: “We have been advised that the amount we currently pay is heavily subsidised and the true cost of an officer preparing for and attending a meeting is £378.31.

“Given the financial situation of Somerset Council and the consideration that this is a model of delegation that could potentially be rolled out to other town and parish councils, we have been told that the only way we can continue to exercise delegated planning powers would be through an agreement that fully recovers the costs of Planning Officer support.”

Figures given to the town council indicate that the attendance of a planning officer at a meeting once a month would cost £280 alone based on four hours work at £70 an hour.

The leader of Somerset County Council, Cllr Bill Revans, who was present at the town council meeting on Monday, said that the new Somerset Council was already looking at a £40m shortfall in its budget for 2023-24, that there would be a similar deficit for the following year and that “we have to look at every penny we spend.”

Councillors were told that the “delegated planning agreement” was unique to Somerset West and Taunton and that Wellington and only two other parishes in the district were the only organisations in the entire country to be allowed to make decisions on planning applications.

But Cllr Revans said that for the agreement to continue in the future the new Somerset Council would have to offer the same service to other town and parish councils and with a “consistent” price.

There were mixed feelings on the situation, however, when town councillors discussed the matter.

Cllr Nancy Powell-Brace said: “I don’t like the figures at all – I’m quite cross about it.”

And Cllr Marcus Barr said: “£70 an hour is a lot of money. It seems a bit unfair.”

Cllr Andrew Govier said it was good to hear that Wellington Town Council was a “trailblazer” when it came to planning and that it was “good to have a say on local planning applications.”

But he questioned whether that level of increased spending would represent value for money.

“It is a scheme which has been of value, but I’m not sure we should go on with it going forward because of the fees involved,” he said.

And Cllr Catherine Govier said that the majority of the applications determined by the town council were either approved or rejected on the recommendation of the planning officer, so questioned whether it would be good value for money.

Cllrs Ross Henley and Miike McGuffie both, however, supported continuing with the service.

“We act as a final gatekeeper on some planning applications,” said Cllr McGuffie. “It’s like having an insurance policy.”

Cllr Keith Wheatley said: “Planning is where the rubber meets the road and people really care about planning.

“It’s inevitable that the unitary authority will make things more remote so I few want to retain and support local democracy this would be good.

“We are talking about £400 a month.”

And Cllr Chris Booth added: “My pendulum has swung being in favour of keeping this service.”

Councillors voted in favour of continuing negotiations with the district authority to move the matter forward.

Cllr Revans said: “We now need to drill down into the detail.”

He added that there was a real shortage of planning officers across the country and said that that might have a bearing on the service offered in the future.

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