Public to keep 10-minute speaking time at South Staffordshire planning meetings
Residents having their say on planning applications at Cannock Chase Council meetings will continue to have up to 10 minutes to talk after members voted against a proposal to halve the public speaking time allowed.
The authority has one of the longest public speaking allowances at planning committee meetings in Staffordshire, compared to other councils where the time ranges from three to five minutes.
The 10-minute public speaking time was brought in at Cannock Chase in 2011. But planning committee members have recently recommended reducing the time to five minutes.
Councillor Paul Startin, who chairs the planning committee, told Wednesday’s full council meeting: “This is an effort to improve debate on planning matters. This seems a sensible amendment to improve the planning process.”
Speaking at a previous planning committee meeting, where members had backed plans to reduce public speaking time to five minutes per application, he said: “I’m very much in favour of reducing it to five minutes.
“We often find when people stand here they feel they need to fill the 10 minutes and repeat themselves three or five times. It doesn’t add to our debate or discussion of the application.”
But on Wednesday no councillors voted in favour of the time reduction. Instead there were 16 votes against the proposal and 20 members abstained.
Councillor George Adamson, leader of the opposition group, said: “I totally oppose this proposal.
“In recent years this council has made huge steps in including communities in the democratic process. To say councillors have 10 minutes to speak and residents have five smacks of arrogance.
“If meetings take a long time it’s because residents have strong feelings and they need to feel they are being listened to. It’s their democratic right and it is part of the job of officers to sit and listen. If it takes three hours, it takes three hours.”
Councillor John Preece said: “Even as a councillor it’s daunting to come and talk – planning is one of the most controversial issues we make decisions on that affects people’s lives.”
Councillor John Kraujalis said: “Most people don’t speak for the full 10 minutes. I think it would be a shame if we reduced it from 10 minutes to five minutes.”
“It is important they have input into the process.”
