Criticism of proposals at Warrington Borough Council to sell off development control (From This Is Cheshire)

Criticism of proposals at Warrington Borough Council to sell off development control

1:00pm Wednesday 10th March 2010 in

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PROPOSALS that could see the building control and development control of the council privatised are premature, according to one councillor.

Clr Linda Dirir (LAB - Penketh and Cuerdley) told a joint committee meeting discussing potential options for the planning arm of Warrington Borough Council that it should only consider it in the future.

She said: “It’s a bit premature. Other authorities are not exactly clamouring to go down this route. We only ended up with one business interested.

“Development control is the coal face of democracy. Nothing about the views should be money driven.”

The council is exploring four different options for the department, which are staying the same, creating a council backed trading company, sharing the service with another council and going into a commercial partnership.

The last option came in for fiercest criticism from councillors.

Clr Terry O’Neill, (LAb - Burtonwood and Winwick) said of Capita Symonds, the company that has put forward proposals to take over the department as a commercial business: “I think they see Warrington as a bit of a golden egg. I asked did they have share holders, I said will they want a return as quickly as possible, they said yes but we care about the service.

“I’m not convinced this is the best way forward for Warrington.”

While Clr Keith Gleave (LD - Whittle Hall) added: “The paperwork does not give me anything to make a decision on their business case. There is nothing about profits.”

The packed meeting of the joint economy and resources and environment and housing overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday night heard how staff had raised most concern over a commercial venture.

Clr Colin Oliver (LD - Poulton North) said: “If the staff do not want to get behind it because it’s a bad idea, it’s a waste of money.”

Councillors were told that staying the same would mean that the department would have to make savings in the current economic climate.

John Groves, development services manager, said: “We would not perhaps visit every site. We would not deal with customers in the same way as we do now.

“We could be less thorough than we are now, we could set lower standards.”

The council’s executive board will decide on the future of building control and development control at a meeting on April 19.