County councillors have continued to voice concerns about national changes to the way planning application decisions are taken – but voted to amend their constitution in line with the changes.

From October 31 a new mandatory national scheme of planning delegations will come into force, which will put tighter requirements on the type of planning applications that can be called in for consideration by councillors.

The majority of planning decisions in Staffordshire are taken by borough and district authorities and delegated to council officers.

Staffordshire County Council deals with applications relating to minerals and waste, such as proposals covering quarries, as well as local authority maintained schools.

Members of the county council's Audit and Standards Committee voted not to endorse the proposed changes at their meeting last month.

But at Thursday's full council meeting (October 8), councillors were advised that despite their objections they were legally required to accept the changes as part of the council's constitution, as these were compulsory.

Councillors spent more than an hour and a half debating the issue at their meeting on Thursday.

Council leader Martin Murray told fellow elected members he would be raising concerns with Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the area's MPs.

He said: "Adopting this change to our constitution is an act of legal necessity, not choice. If we had a choice, I suspect many of us here would vote against it.

"What this Government want to do is centralise planning decisions, stripping local people of their voice. That's an affront to the very concept of representative democracy – and that in my view is fundamentally wrong.

"But we have no choice but to adopt these changes, because not doing so would put Staffordshire County Council into a state of structural illegality.

"It would create huge governance and financial risks to the council and undermine our ability to deliver the vital services our residents rely on – we should not impose those kinds of consequences on the people of Staffordshire.

"A vote to pass this change is not a sign of support. It is a demonstration of our ability – whatever party we belong to – to make the difficult decision in difficult circumstances to keep the authority legally compliant."

But Councillor Philip White, leader of the opposition, said he would be voting against it.

He added: "This is a terrible example of Government overreach into one of the basic functions of councils – determining what will be built and what will not be built in our local area.

"We here on the Conservative benches can't go along with this. We need to give voice to our opposition for this, we need to give voice to our residents who will be horrified that these decisions are being taken away from us.

"There are councils up and down the country who are voting against this. They are well aware that the Government can overrule them, but they are voting against this.

"The more of us who do it, the harder it is for the Government to steam roller over us and do this. This is a decision that can be reversed if we stand up for our residents and have the courage of our convictions."

Councillor Ian Cooper said: "Today I am deeply frustrated. Not because I want Staffordshire County Council to break the law, not because I oppose change, but elected members have been placed in an impossible position.

"We are being asked to choose between surrendering democratic authority or suffering the consequences. That is not a choice – that is compulsion.

"I am asking that this vote should not take place. It should be deferred, members given full information, the publication of the complete audit trail of these decisions and the advice received."

"This proposal has history and members are entitled to see it – members deserve absolute clarity on the record in front of the public."

The vote took place on Thursday however.

Councillors present voted by a majority to approve the amendment of the constitution to reflect the changes to planning laws.