PARISH councils have written to the chief executive of Maldon District Council over its decision to exclude them on planning matters.

Councils from around the district, including Wickham Bishops and Maldon Town Council, have written to Fiona Marshall to object to the decision made last month.

District councillors voted in November to axe the parish trigger, which gave parish councils the power to demand a debate if they had requested a planning application be rejected but an officer had recommended it for approval.

Between January 1 and August 18 this year there were 52 occasions where the parish trigger resulted in applications going to committee.

Under the new rules only district councillors can trigger a debate.

It is one of a raft of measures designed to save money. However, David Ogg, chairman of Maldon Town Council’s planning committee, said the removal has “taken away democracy”.

He said: “The parish clerk for Wickham Bishops sent a letter around to all the town and parish councils in the district, essentially saying they’re not happy about it.

“When I wrote a letter to the district council I said that before an officer filed anything they should notify the ward representative or the chairman of the relevant parish council planning committee.

“Otherwise, the MDC representative might not even know that it is happening.”

Mr Ogg said that while planning officers will have the training and knowledge to handle applications, the views of residents must not be ignored.

He added: “But the underlying point is that they do not live there.

“The idea is the people have the right to their own views, and it is the council’s duty to try to deliver what the people want, but that has been lost completely by getting rid of the parish trigger.

“We know why they have done it, which is to save money, which is all well and good and to be encouraged, but taking away the trigger has in effect, taken away the democracy.”

A spokesman for Maldon District Council said: “At a meeting of the Council on November 2 members voted unanimously to implement a number of amendments to the existing governance arrangements within the authority.

"These alterations were born out of a recent audit and a peer review which highlighted where changes could be made to improve efficiency.  

"These measures included removal of the parish trigger which has now been replaced with an extended call in process by an appropriate qrea planning committee member.

"Parish/town councils with concerns should contact an area planning committee member who may then agree to call in the application to the relevant area planning committee."