Kingsmead councillor resigns

Kingsmead councillor Vicky Glover-Ward has resigned as a District Councillor and from her role as Executive Member for Planning.

In her letter of resignation, Cllr Glover-Ward paid tribute to council officers and fellow councillors, as well as shedding light on her reasons for resigning.

The incredible professionalism and dedication have been a joy to me, and I have loved working with all officers, but particularly with the superb planning, licencing, economic development and grounds teams. All officers have been generous in spending time explaining the nitty gritty, the limitations and helping me to make a fair fist of councilloring. You do all the hard work of implementing the strategy decisions made by councillors and making the projects and initiatives on which I have worked go from an idea to a glorious reality.

I also want to pay tribute to the exceptional and generous support I have received from the LibDem members of the Exec and wider administration.

:: Cllr Vicky Glover-Ward

Recent changes to planning law, increases in the district's housing target, and the removal of planning powers from the council were cited by Cllr. Glover-Ward in her letter.

The final straw for me leading to this decision has been both the new NPPF and the Scheme of Delegation. The removal of a further swathe of planning powers coupled with the ridiculous levels set for the housing targets in the 2024 NPPF plus the reduction of the ability to set Local Plan standards along with the removal of transparent local democracy is the writing on the wall as to direction of travel in planning by government. Don't get me wrong; I believe that we need growth in housing to meet both existing and future need but this needs to be good quality place making not expedient bolting on of speculative developments next to settlements without the infrastructure to support the cumulative effect of many such additions.

In my view successive governments have followed a flawed policy of handing more and more planning power to developers believing this will unlock real growth while ignoring the real issue. The main cause of lack of building is the basic rule of supply and demand; developers will always throttle building rates to maintain price point and governments believing that what is preventing home building is ‘red tape’ demonstrates incredible naivety on their part or a reluctance to grasp the nettle and allow local planning authorities to set conditions relating to build out rates or devising another mechanism to encourage delivery on the ground.

:: Cllr Vicky Glover-Ward

In a statement on the council's website, the authority said: "As an engineer with decades of experience in the construction industry, Vicky brought her considerable skill to a challenging portfolio and worked hard to support and grow the council's planning team as well as help our communities negotiate the complex rules laid down in national planning policy. 

"During this time, she also introduced two additional opportunities to help residents have their say on planning applications - the community forum and the development management forum - which have proved very successful. 

"Vicky has also been a strong advocate for local involvement in planning and has raised concerns about the potential impact of national planning reforms on local decision-making and housing targets."

Cllr Maura Connolly is taking over as Executive Member for Planning and Growth.

Cllr Glover-Ward will continue with her role as a town councillor.

A by-election will be held in the Kingsmead Ward on Thursday 22nd October 2026.