Council warns changes to planning system will break communities' trust

04/11/26

Babergh District Council has accused the Government of undermining democratic decision-making through changes to the national planning system.

Following heated debate at October’s council meeting, Babergh District Council leader Cllr Deborah Saw has written to Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, warning that the recent changes to the national planning system prevents local communities and their elected representatives from having a say over development within their neighbourhood, eroding trust in the political process.

The changes mean that the number of planning applications going before the planning committee for decisions will be reduced, with ward councillors also losing the power to ‘call-in’ developments for debate.

Babergh District Council leader Cllr Deborah Saw said: “We are at a loss to understand how the government can force councils to accept changes which will actually remove local communities and their elected representatives from decision-making about the places they live.

“How are these measures giving elected representatives the opportunity to use their local knowledge about an area and convey the strength of local opinion about projects? How does it ensure new homes and crucial infrastructure are appropriate for our communities and meet the genuine needs of local people? How does this secure the Prime Minister’s goal of helping to restore trust in politics?”

The changes coincide with the target number of new homes to be built in Babergh increasing by 86% to 775 a year – despite the council already approving nine out of every ten applications within required time limits.

“The government appears to be saying that the responsibility for the house building crisis should be laid at the doors of councils,” added Cllr Saw, “and yet we have over 3,000 properties with housing permissions unbuilt. It is the profit-led developer-led system that is causing the housing crisis and ensuring that we cannot deliver the affordable housing people are crying out for here. We would love to build more homes at a social rent for our residents but are unable to do so without government funding.

“Taking councillors out of the planning system won’t change the fundamental issue of housing being driven solely for profit, not for people, but it will ensure voters' continuing disenchantment with the political system,” she warned.