Issue - meetings
Recommendations from the Constitution Working Group
Meeting: 25/03/2026 - Council (Item 7.)
7. Recommendations from the Constitution Working Group 
PDF 95 KB
Purpose
To present recommendations from the Constitution Working Group related to delegations for regulatory matters, a review of the planning committee process and Member Questions.
Recommendations
That Council resolves to:
1. Approve the updates to Part 4E: Functions in Relation to Regulatory Matters, as shown in Annex A.
2. Agree to rename the Development Control Committee to “Strategic Planning Committee”, with effect from the start of the 2026/27 civic year.
3. Agree to combine the two area planning sub-committees (Lowlands and Uplands) into a single, district-wide 12-Member “Development Management Sub-Committee” (quorum 3), with effect from the start of the 2026/27 civic year.
4. Agree to amend Part 3C: Committee Functions, as shown in Annex C, from the start of the 2026/27 civic year to give effect to recommendations 2 and 3.
5. Agree that the new Development Management Sub-Committee will meet on the Lowlands meeting dates in 2026/27, with the Uplands dates held for overspill meetings, should the sub-committee need to adjourn and reconvene.
6. Request that the Council’s Independent Remuneration Panel meets to consider the implications of changing the planning committee structure for the Members’ Allowances Scheme 2023-27 and formally report back to the May Council meeting with any recommendations.
7. Agree that the Process for Determining Planning Applications (Annex D) and Roles and Responsibilities on Planning Committees (Annex E) be included in the Constitution as appendices to Part 6Q: Members Planning Code of Good Practice.
8. Agree to amend the rules for Member Questions, as shown in Annex F, Part 5A Council Procedure Rules to:
a) Introduce a word limit of 250 words on Member Questions.
b) Introduce a time limit of 1 minute for supplementary Member Questions.
c) Rotate the order of Member Questions by political group, in the same way that Motions rotate.
Additional documents:
- Annex A Part4EFunctionsinrelationtoRegulatoryMatters, item 7.
PDF 93 KB
- Annex B RAG Rated PAS actions, item 7.
PDF 239 KB
- Annex C Extract of Part3CCommitteeFunctions amended, item 7.
PDF 93 KB
- Annex D Process for Planning Meetings, item 7.
PDF 28 KB
- Annex E Roles and Responsibilities in Relation to Planning Committees, item 7.
PDF 49 KB
- Annex F Extract of Part5ACouncilProcedureRules, item 7.
PDF 48 KB
- Webcast for Recommendations from the Constitution Working Group