FOLLOWING changes that were approved at Basildon Council's June full council meeting, new rules at Basildon Borough Council will now limit the number of speakers at planning committee meetings to five per side – including members of the public, ward councillors, and the Group Leader – and a strict 50/50 split between those supporting and opposing an application will be enforced.

The total time allowed has been cut from 30 minutes to 15 minutes, meaning that, in some cases, no member of the public may be able to speak at all.

MP for Basildon and Billericay Richard Holden has written to the council's Chief Executive, Gary Jones, warning that the changes risk silencing local voices and undermining democratic scrutiny.

Mr Holden is calling on the council to urgently reconsider the decision and restore proper space for residents and councillors to speak on planning applications that shape their communities.

He says: "These changes shut out the very people most affected by planning decisions. If all three ward councillors and the Group Leader speak, the public gets just one slot, or none at all. That isn't democratic engagement, it's deliberate suppression of local voices."