Democracy for Wickford and Billericay residents looks set to hit the political agenda this summer.

Councillors for the two towns have asked for the problem of Basildon Council overturning their decisions to be urgently addressed.

Frustrated members recently spoke out on the subject after a series of controversial planning applications.

There was uproar at a Wickford area committee meeting last year after councillors refused to allow a pizza firm to move into the High Street. They argued they didn't want to see any more takeaways in the main shopping area.

But Basildon Council reversed their decision and said they had acted illegally by not sticking to a strict list of reasons for turning down applications.

Billericay members have faced a similar battle to protect their High Street and stop their decisions being overturned by other members of the council.

Councillors from both Billericay and Wickford took the opportunity to express their fears about the existing area committee decision-making process at the council's annual meeting.

Conservative Malcolm Buckley, representing Wickford south, has been trying to tackle the problem for several months.

He said: "Area committee decisions are constantly overturned by the central council bodies. There is an illusion of local democracy."

Billericay west councillor Matt Barr was among the Liberal Democrats who asked that area committees be allowed to determine their own rules and guidelines.

But leader of the council John Potter said it would not be feasible. He added: "All committees must be answerable to a higher elected body."

It was eventually agreed that the issue of area committees needed to be discussed in depth and the topic is expected to be raised for debate again in the near future.

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