Milton Keynes Conservatives bring motion to Full Council challenging the removal of local planning safeguards.
Imagine a development being proposed near your home, with concerns about traffic, flooding, green spaces or pressure on local schools. Until now, residents could push for certain planning applications to be debated publicly at Planning Committee, through their local councillors or Parish Councils. Under Labour's new planning rules, introduced on 31st October, that route has been taken away, leaving residents with fewer ways to have their concerns heard.
This means that more planning decisions will be made by officers rather than debated publicly by elected councillors and residents.
Residents can still object to planning applications, but even hundreds of objections will not, on their own, guarantee that an application is heard by Planning Committee.
The changes affect communities right across Milton Keynes, from rural villages to established estates and growing residential neighbourhoods.
Conservative Councillor David Hopkins is bringing a motion to Full Council on Wednesday 18 November, challenging the Government's decision and calling for the restoration of these important local democratic rights.
Councillor David Hopkins said:
"Planning decisions can have a lasting impact on our communities. They affect the roads we use, the green spaces we value, the character of our villages and neighbourhoods, and the places our children will grow up in.
Residents should be able to take part in the debate when they have serious concerns about a planning application and know there is a route to having those concerns considered publicly.
That important safeguard has now been removed. Local communities will have no meaningful voice in decisions that affect them.
Milton Keynes is not one-size-fits-all. What matters to a rural parish may be very different from the concerns of a growing urban neighbourhood. Local knowledge matters, and so does democratic accountability."
The Conservative motion calls on the Council to write to Government demanding the restoration of call-in rights, arrange a special briefing for Parish and Town Councils, ensure greater transparency over decisions about which applications reach Planning Committee, and explore ways for local councillors to formally raise concerns under the new system.
Councillor Shazna Muzammil, Leader of the Conservative Group, said:
"We all know Milton Keynes is growing, but surely the people who already live here deserve a say in what happens to their neighbourhoods?
This Labour Government seems determined to take away the rights of the very people who have to live with the decisions planning officers will be taking moving forward.
I would really encourage residents and our Parish and Town Councils to come along on 18 November and speak about their experiences.
These are your homes, your neighbourhoods and your communities. Your voices matter, and they deserve to be heard."
Residents, Parish and Town Councils are encouraged to attend Full Council on Wednesday 18 November 2026 at the Civic Offices, Milton Keynes.
Anyone wishing to speak should contact Democratic Services at [email protected] to register their interest and confirm participation arrangements.
