Dudley Council have voted to hit back at new planning rules which could hand power to the West Midlands Mayor.

At a meeting of the full council on April 28 members of the authority accepted a notice of motion from Conservative Cllr Mark Webb which said powers in the government’s proposed reform of planning laws would limit the types of applications that could be decided by councillors.

The Labour government’s plans in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill also aim to hand control of strategic planning to the mayor in areas like the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Cllr Webb said: “Any decision should be taken by locally elected members, the Bill is designed to speed up planning decisions by removing unnecessary blockers and challengers – in other words the residents of Dudley.

“If all else fails, the compulsory purchase reform will mop up the leftovers allowing land to be acquired so projects that are in the public interest can progress with decisions on this being taken by the inspectorates or the metro mayor.”

The government says the reforms will hand more power to local politicians in a form of devolution.

In December, minister of state for local government and English devolution, Jim McMahon, said: “It will shift power, decision making and money away from Westminster as part of a completely new way of governing, equipping more mayors working hand in glove with confident and stable local councils with a stronger set of levers to drive growth in their communities.”

The council accepted Cllr Webb’s proposal that Dudley’s leader, Cllr Patrick Harley, should write to the deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner MP, outlining opposition to the plans.

Cllr Harley will also write to the West Midlands mayor, Richard Parker, stating the council’s opposition to any plans to give strategic planning power to the office of the mayor.

During the debate members clashed across the political divide after Labour councillor and Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles was challenged by Conservative front bencher, Cllr Simon Phipps.

Cllr Phipps accused the government of increasing housing targets in a cynical attempt to cause large estates to be built on countryside in places like Dudley borough.

Cllr Phipps said: “I have not seen anything from the elected representative who can actually appeal directly to the government has said ‘we need to row back on these’.

“Not an ounce of fight was given to try and protect sites in the borough including in the Stourbridge constituency.”

Cllr Eccles said: “On December 17 last year I did meet with Alex Norris the housing minister, I placed it on my social media, saying that I was requesting that we could work from the previous housing numbers that we had for this borough and not take on the new ones.

“It’s still being decided as part of the plan B but I have been making the case for our green belt and our residents, particularly in Stourbridge.”