Councillors' calls for stricter measures in Cardiff to ensure developers comply with planning obligations have been voted down. In raising his motion at a Cardiff Council full council meeting on Thursday March 30, Conservative member for Old St Mellons, Cllr Joel Williams, said some developers "flagrantly" breach their planning conditions.
The councillor called for the use of prohibition orders which would prevent developers from continuing with their developments until they comply with their conditions. The Liberal Democrats group amended the motion, a move which was accepted by Cllr Williams, to include calls for the council to improve its delivery of legally-binding payments from developers for the benefit of the community.
These payments are known as section 106 contributions and can go towards things like new schools, clinics, affordable housing and roads. Cardiff Council's cabinet member for transport and strategic planning Cllr Dan De'Ath said the council is already looking to strengthen its planning enforcement function.
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Cllr Joel Williams said during last week's council meeting: "By failing to enforce conditions of planning, the value and significance of such conditions is worthless. A failure to enforce by the local authority can undermine the trust and confidence the public places in us as councillors elected to serve our city and the council as a whole."
There have been cases where some approved planning applications have had to go back to the council's planning committee for a new decision after developers said they were unable to pay the amount originally agreed in section 106 contributions. More recently, the cause of such requests has often been as a result of rising costs and the impact that that has had on businesses.
Seconding Cllr Williams' motion, Cllr Catriona Brown-Reckless said: "Planning conditions are there for a reason. They ensure that we get the character and the nature of development that we want to see in our areas. Section 106 contributions, particularly on the large scale developments are essential to make sure we get the infrastructure that we need for our communities."
Liberal Democrat group member, Cllr Joe Carter, said: "Our group felt like we agreed with the direction of the motion and what it was trying to achieve." He later added: "If we fail to enforce the rules that are actually agreed with developers in the first place, then we lose our credibility as a council and we run the risk of our communities being taken for granted."
Cllr Dan De'Ath responded to the comments made in the chamber, saying: "The planning enforcement team works tirelessly to respond to literally hundreds of complaints each year from local ward members and the general public, investigating all alleged breaches of planning control would that be unauthorised development, change of use or breaches of conditions. The wider planning team also regularly engages with major developers to ensure that they comply with their permissions and conditions attached there too.
"However, enforcement action will always be taken when a breach causes harm and when officers are unable to resolve matters informally. That is not to say we cannot do better and I am pleased to say that steps are already being taken to strengthen the council planning enforcement function through the recruitment of a new group leader role for the responsibility of enforcement."
Interviews for the post are taking place next week. Cllr De'Ath added: "The post will provide the addition of resilience to the team and provide greater robustness to the enforcement of planning controls within the city." Cllr Williams' motion lost by 49 votes to 21.
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