Take politics out of planning

Downtown has a significant number of members in the property sector, and I have yet to meet one of them operating in this city that would welcome additional planning powers being handed over to the city council.
I'm afraid that councils and council members in particular, have great difficulty in viewing planning applications objectively.
The fact is that a councillor's first priority is often to get re-elected, and therefore if a planning application is considered unpopular in key electoral seats, however compelling, it will be rejected by elected members. Political whims and parochialism take precedent over the merits of any proposed scheme.
What we need is less political influence over planning issues, not more. Councillors should be consulted in the planning process, enabling them to transparently argue against applications where their constituents are in opposition. However, the final outcome ought to be delegated to a panel consisting of independent experts who can, genuinely, come to a fair conclusion.
I am concerned that if the Tories go ahead with this move, we will see an increase in costs to both developers and local authorities, as appeal after appeal is lodged against negative planning decisions.
With a few notable exceptions, Manchester springs to mind in the North West, councils do not have the capacity to take on the additional responsibilities the Conservatives are proposing. The idea of Liverpool's planners being given additional powers is, quite frankly, frightening.
I hope that David Cameron and his team to think again.
A national campaign, 'Building Futures', has been launched, with some of the property sectors biggest players backing. It articulates the same concerns as I have. Let's hope the Conservatives listen.