BOLTON Council’s planning committee is believed to have been given a clean bill of health following an independent review.

The much-anticipated independent inquiry took place over three days last week, with the review team leaving the borough on Thursday.

The team, from the Planning Advisory Service, will now put together a full report detailing their findings, which is expected to be published next month.

The inquiry took place following concerns about the workings of the committee and perceptions among some members of the public about the way decisions are made.

But the Bolton News understands that the report will say that the inquiry team did not find any evidence of inappropriate activity or block voting.

The full details of the report yet to be finalised but council chiefs are expected to be pleased with the outcome.

The ruling Labour group has always maintained that it ‘has nothing to hide’ when it comes to the planning process and senior Cllr Nick Peel welcomed the inquiry when it was first put forward by the Conservatives last year.

While the key conclusion is that there is no inappropriate activity taking place — it is thought that the inquiry team will criticise a lack of clear processes which could enable the authority to refute allegations that have been made in the past.

Therefore, the Planning Advisory Service is expected to make a number of recommendations aimed at improving the way planning committee meetings are carried out and encouraging better contact with the public.

It will be also be suggested that the number of councillors sitting on the planning committee is reduced — from the current 20 to around 12.

The reviewers, who watched a committee meeting in action, also believe there are too many applications being dealt with at meetings and the number could be reduced.

At present, when councillors vote on applications they do so by a show of hands, which is not currently recorded. — but in future recording the way members vote could help to refute any allegations of impropriety.

There was also a view that the meetings could be more ‘user friendly’ and measures could be put in place to better explain to how the planning process works to members of the public attending meetings.

However, questions continue to be asked about the terms of reference of the inquiry, with opposition councillors still angry that planning officers were not allowed to provide evidence confidentially to the Planning Advisory Service team.