Minister gets a pat on the back

Tuesday 16th January 2007, 12:00AM GMT.

PLANNING has been better run since Senator Freddie Cohen became minister, according to a Scrutiny report published today.

But the report – by the Environment Scrutiny panel – also warned that the ‘excessive’ power of the minister could result in the States ‘losing control of the planning process’ completely. Senator Cohen’s powers, they warned, allowed him to do whatever he wanted in terms of approving or disapproving applications. And while this was, they said, not a worry as long as the current minister was in charge, it could become problematic in the future. In the report they say: ‘The delegation of power from the States to the Minister for Planning and Environment was excessive in that it overly restricted the right of the States Assembly to intervene on specific planning matters.’

Read the full story in the Jersey Evening Post. Click here for subscription details. Individual editions are also available online.