Press Release: Council Planning Committee Meeting

PRESS INFORMATION – 31 January 2025 – For Immediate Release

RT HON VALERIE VAZ MP RAISES ISSUES OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN PLANNING DECISIONS 

I have written to the Chief Executive of Walsall MBC and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) after the Planning Committee granted planning permission for the development of the former Mercedes Benz site on Dudley Street.

My letter raised concerns about the Planning Committee meeting on 28 November 2024, the conduct of the meeting and the lack of information. Not all reports were made available to the Planning Committee members.  The Planning officer was not asked any questions and most of the questions were directed to the Objectors.

My objection letter dated 10 September 2024 outlined breaches of local planning policy but was not put before the Committee. The planning officer failed to mention the grounds for my objection. There was also a petition from constituents that was not attached to the planning officer’s report.

If members of the public want any information about the application or the meeting, the Council’s website directs users to the Committee Management and Information System for Committee details and another webpage with an outdated and cumbersome map system for finding applications. The other option is another website. So if the exact application is not known, a long list of applications that must be trawled through.

It is well known that Dudley Street and the surrounding area is heavily congested and the application was initially rejected by Highways. But the Report was not accessible and the officer at the meeting said he “worked with the applicant” which did not allow interested parties and constituents to comment on the change in stance.

The report from Environment Protection called for a planning consultation on air quality from Public Health but there is no report available.

The Director of Public Health recommended in 2022 that Walsall Council works with schools among other local organisations to develop planning policies that limit the expansion of fast-food takeaways. There are two schools less than 400m from the site. The only comment from Public Health on this application was that there is “no comment”. It is not clear whether the schools were consulted.

The Council’s Strategic Policy Officer stated that the proposal would ‘dilute the Primary Shopping Area still further’ and referred to the vacant units with parking available in the Old Square and Saddlers shopping centres. Yet this was not taken into account as a relevant consideration by the Committee.

Anyone viewing the online recording of the proceedings in the Council chamber would be astonished at the decision-making process. The Committee did not take into account relevant considerations but took into account irrelevant considerations.

My constituents deserve to access all the information and to be reassured that the proper decision-making process is adhered to. This was not a transparent and effective process for the public to find out important information about developments that affect them.