"Treat us fairly" – that was the plea from Dorchester town councillors to Dorset Council over local planning issues.

Town councillors say that when they ask for local decisions to be made by Dorset Council's area planning committee, rather than officers, the request is rejected all too often, although similar "ranking" applications from the north of the county often do appear before councillors for a decision.

"Dorchester is not being treated fairly," said Cllr Molly Rennie, who sits on both the town council and Dorset Council.

Her view was shared by fellow councillors Les Fry and Stella Jones, who also serve on both councils.

Cllr Fry told a town council meeting that, from his observations, there did appear to be a difference in the way Dorchester requests were treated, compared to those from the northern area.

"More Dorchester items should be going to committee, it's in the interests of the public," he said.

Cllr Jones said she had also noted that more of the smaller applications from the north of the county made it to the area committee for a decision, compared to those from the Dorchester area.

"We really need to push and push to get our smaller applications there," she said.

Said Cllr Rennie: "It used to be that if the town or parish council, or ward councillor, wanted an application to come before the area planning committee, all they had to do was ask and it would usually happen, but not anymore.

"Very rarely does anything go to committee. The percentages are now so small."

The Mayor of Dorchester, Cllr Alistair Chisholm, said he saw little point in having a process for dealing with local applications which were contentious, if it was being ignored.

"We do have two tiers of local government which planning applications go through – but what is the point if the lower tier can be ignored?" he asked.0

Cllr Robin Potter, who chairs the town council's planning committee, said that every application, no matter its size, was given equal consideration by town councillors, whose views are only advisory, but it was not always the case at Dorset Council which, ultimately, made the final decision.

"It's a shame we are ignored," he said.

Dorset Council say there is strict criteria in place for deciding which applications come before committee which should ensure fairness.

Said a Dorset Council spokesperson in response to the comments made at Dorchester Town Council: "Local authority decisions are made by elected members but for the council to be able to function on a day-to-day basis the law allows various executive and non-executive functions to be delegated to officers.

"In addition, there are some functions which the law says must be exercised by specific officers. We do already require additional scrutiny of the decision process where town and parish councils express views that are contrary to the officer recommendation.

"There is a constitution that sets out the ways in which the officers of the council can make decisions and which decisions they have the power to make. It is called the 'Scheme of Delegation' "

Dorset Council says that those who want to find out more can read the guidance here: https://moderngov.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/documents/s21797/Part%203.%20Pages%20203-245%20-%20Scheme%20of%20Delegation%20-%20Officer%20Scheme%20of%20Delegations.pdf