A DECISION to allow planning officers in Malvern to decide all but a few planning applications has been branded "undemocratic" by one councillor.

Worcestershire County Councillor Tom Wells spoke out after it was announced Malvern Hills District Council officers had been given automatic delegated powers to approve most planning applications at a Powick parish council meeting.

Under the system, only planning applications submitted by councillors, senior officers or the council and those which go against planning policy will automatically go to a planning committee to be decided by councillors. All others can be delegated.

Supporters say it will speed up the planning process and help the council to meet central Government targets.

However, Coun Wells said: "I'm concerned about the lack of democratic accountability in all this.

"The Government is imposing targets on the council that it should try to determine applications within a six-week period. Rather than serving the imposed targets, we should be designing a system that meets local people's needs because there are enormous concerns about planning across the district."

He said he believed about 95 per cent of planning applications were now being decided by officers.

David Murray, the council's development control manager, said: "Where an application is not controversial - for example there are no objections - then senior officers can make a decision on it.

"But where people have objected and officers are minded to recommend approval, we do a short report and that goes to the local councillor and they can ask for the application to go to committee."

The Government says 90 per cent of applications should be determined by officers.

l Officers at Worcester City Council are also being given delegated powers to decide applications. Major developments - anything over five houses or businesses with more than 500 sq metres of floor space - any application relating to trees and any application with more than 10 objections still automatically go to the committee.