> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thestaffordshiresignal.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Lichfield councillor condemns social media calls to ‘hunt down and sack’ planning committee members - URL: https://www.thestaffordshiresignal.co.uk/lichfield-councillor-condemns-social-media-calls-to-hunt-down-and-sack-planning-committee-members/ - Published: 2026-10-15T07:04:24.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-15T07:04:24.000Z - Description: A Lichfield councillor has condemned social media comments calling for planning committee members to be ‘hunted down and sacked’, as councillors highlighted the restrictions they face when making planning decisions. - Author: The Staffordshire Signal Newsroom - Tags: Politics ****THE SIGNAL BRIEF** ****What’s new:** Councillor Paul Taylor has raised concerns over social media comments calling for members of Lichfield District Council’s planning committee to be ‘hunted down and sacked’. ****Why it matters:** Councillors said disagreement with planning decisions was legitimate, but argued that comments targeting individual committee members should be challenged. ****The big picture:** Councillors also stressed that local planning committees must work within national planning policy and have less freedom over decisions than some members of the public may realise. ![Local Democracy Reporting Service](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3b/48/3b482e3b-bd85-4cd0-bf5d-b4c28e10d60b/content/images/2026/09/ldrs-logo.png) This article is based on reporting from the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), a BBC funded initiative set up to strengthen reporting on local democratic issues. [The Staffordshire Signal](https://www.thestaffordshiresignal.co.uk/) has taken part in the scheme since September 2026, which means we're able to draw on a selection of LDRS stories alongside our own. A councillor has raised concerns over social media comments calling on members of the planning committee to be ‘hunted down and sacked’. Councillor Paul Taylor, who represents Boney Hay and Central on Lichfield District Council, said he was disgusted by the comments. At a recent council meeting, Councillor Taylor said he was ‘disappointed and disgusted’ that organisations in the district allowed such comments to be made on social media posts. > Councillor Taylor said: “On behalf of the members of the planning committee, can I just register a level of disappointment and disgust at organisations with the district who have potentially rightful objections to some of the decisions that are made, allowing comment on their Facebook posts that call for members of the committee, who were named in the post, to be ‘hunted down and sacked’.” Councillor Taylor said he had previously raised the issue at a Burntwood Town Council meeting. He added that sometimes councillors had to make decisions that were unpopular with members of the public who might not understand the full extent of the rules and restrictions they had to follow. > He added: “I can’t say they shouldn’t be allowed. It’s a free country, but they should absolutely be refuted, disputed and pushed back on.” Councillor Joseph Powell expressed support for Councillor Taylor and agreed with the sentiment. He added: “This is not the behaviour that can be acceptable to this chamber, nor to those of us who are members of the planning committee.” Councillor Thomas Marshall, chair of council and planning committee member, said councillors have limited freedom when making planning decisions due to national planning policy. > He said: “I think it has to be said that there is possibly less autonomy in terms of local government and certainly when it comes to the planning committee as well. There is less autonomy than perhaps a lot of members of the general public realise. > > “We are rather hidebound by central government policy, the national planning policy framework. We have to abide by that because if we decide to go off-piste as it were and make decisions which are not in line with planning rules then we are liable to make the planning department less credible. > > “Also, we’re likely to be judged by a higher authority and they could actually take away any autonomy that we still have. So we have to be very careful and we do have to walk a rather narrow path.” Written by Jonathan Sutton, Local Democracy Reporter. ![The Staffordshire Signal](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3b/48/3b482e3b-bd85-4cd0-bf5d-b4c28e10d60b/content/images/2026/04/Logo-website-PNG-close-crop-green-4.png) Why the Signal exists ## Real news takes time. Thanks for taking yours. You've just read a story that took time to get right. No clickbait, no racing to be first, no ads chasing you down the page. I started The Staffordshire Signal because I got fed up of local news that chased clicks instead of stories. 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