CONCERNS have been raised that individual boroughs will be ‘overruled’ on planning decisions unless the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council has separate committees.

The new organisation’s draft constitution includes plans for its committee structure with a single conurbation-wide planning board preferred over having one per borough.

However, Bournemouth councillor Nick Rose said that the workload would be ‘too great’ and that planning and licensing should be decided separately for each area.

A task and finish group of five councillors – Nicola Greene, Philip Broadhead, David Flagg, May Haines and Ian Potter – has been drawing-up proposals for how the new council will be governed.

In a report to last month’s shadow authority scrutiny committee, their preference for a single planning committee of between 11 and 15 members was outlined – a move it said would avoid ‘perpetuating historic boundaries’.

However, Cllr Rose said that without individual committees, the workload on councillors would be ‘too great’.

In an email, he said that the potential situation in which Poole councillors could be determining minor applications at the other end of the conurbation was ‘an absurdity’.

The option of separate committees has been explored by the task and finish group but was ruled out in favour of the single board model which it said would ‘assist in the development of a whole council culture’.

The report to last month’s shadow authority scrutiny committee meeting said: “The advantages of having one planning committee are that it means decisions are made consistently across the council area.

“Members of the committee can become aware of the planning issues which affect the whole of the area and familiar with the existing policies affecting all areas.”

It added: “It avoids the difficulties associated with dealing with applications which fall within more than one area or decisions being taken by one committee which affect another area of the council without input from that area.

“There is clarity as to how decisions are made and by whom and the ward member role can be developed and highlighted to ensure that the community is represented by ward members in regard to planning issues affecting the area.”

The task and finish group’s proposals will be considered ahead of the planned adoption of the new council’s constitution in February.