'Outrageous' decision to delay Black Country Plan scrutiny until 'after plans are backed'

Councillor Aftab Nawaz, leader of the Labour group on Walsall Council, said it was "outrageous" the planned meeting next month had been moved to November.

It will now take place after a cabinet decision is made to essentially finalise the land allocations in the document which will see green belt land used for housing.

Under the Black Country Plan, over 7,700 homes are earmarked for green belt sites across the four council areas, with the vast majority being built in Walsall.

They include sites such as Calderfields West, next to the borough's arboretum, and land off Doe Bank Lane between Pheasey and Streetly, to the anger of campaigners.

Councillor Nawaz, who criticised the decision to move the meeting from September 22 to November - after October's decision, said: "It's against all basic tenets of democracy.

"We argue people do not get involved enough and when they do, we're saying 'you can, but only after we've made the decision'. I've been asking since April for a special meeting – not only as leader of the opposition but as a councillor for the St Matthews' ward – so residents can properly have their say, on the Calderfields site and other sites across the borough.

"What these campaigners have done is they've put their hands in their own pockets, got a consultant who has done a report and my intention was to ask the chair for us to look at that report to see if there's an alternative view to the cabinet – and see if the housing need can be met through this report where it says there's enough brownfield sites, and to look at the premise on which this Black Country Plan has been built on.

"I wanted them to present that to the committee and they could have made a recommendation to the cabinet, and even if they would have thrown it in the bin, at least people would've felt they had the chance to put their views forward.

"Of course, the Conservative administration will say they can do it through the normal consultation process, but this would have been through the eyes of a scrutiny committee and they've now fobbed it off to November – after the decision has been made.

"It's very very bad that people who want to have their say on something so important, we as a council have said to them 'you can give your views but not in any formal sense – it won't make any difference at all'. It's outrageous really."

People in the borough can currently have their say under the draft plan, known as Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2012. A consultation had taken place last year over the plans, but a a further 820 homes across three sites were added last month and are out for consultation until September 5.

Regulation 18 means the four authorities – Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Sandwell – have a binding requirement to take into account any representation made to them. When the next stage is approved, a new consultation is launched for "publication plan" under Regulation 19, a draft version of the proposals which will be sent to Government.

It allows people to have their say but only within a specific remit – whether the plan is legally sound, the "soundness" of it and whether it is consistent with national policies, and whether authorities have co-operated with other key organisations when putting the plan together, it is understood.

"Before the Regulation 19 process is approved, if you make an argument and they accept it, they can take a piece of land out of the document," Councillor Nawaz said.

"I admit it might be unlikely it would be taken out of the process, but with Regulation 19 you don't have the possibility to do that."

Councillor John Murray, chairman of the scrutiny overview committee, said it was his understanding Regulation 19 marked the next phase of the plan – and said he was not aware the consultation applied to a specific remit, explaining the meeting had been moved due to members' requests.

He added: "The decision was taken because one or two members did request it be scrutinised after the cabinet decision. At the moment, it's Regulation 18 which is coming to the end of its consultation period and Regulation 19 is being considered by the cabinet in October.

"It was decided it would be better to scrutinise the cabinet decision in October which is based around Regulation 19 which will then go out to consultation. What the cabinet do is they are agreeing that it goes out to consultation.

"The scrutiny committee (will) scrutinise what is out there for consultation, rather than scrutinising a version of the plan for which the consultation has ended."