Robert Potts
Photo: Durham

Durham planning committee

Councillor Robert Potts

Ewood wardMember, County Planning Committee

Seen at planning committee from June 2026 to July 2026

  • 2 of 2meetings attended
  • 6decisions at their meetings

Councillor's page on the council's website

As at 17 September 2026, according to Plota’s analysis of Durham’s published minutes, Councillor Robert Potts attended 2 of the 2 planning committee meetings whose minutes list them, from June 2026 to July 2026. The committee decided 6 applications at those meetings. The minutes we hold do not give each member's vote on them.

Meetings attended
2 of 2
Too few meetings for a percentage.Meetings whose minutes list them as present, sending apologies or absent. Minutes that list only those present cannot show an absence.
Decisions at their meetings
6
Applications decided at the meetings they sat on, as the minutes record them.
Declared interests
0
Decisions on which the minutes record them declaring an interest.

Voting record

The minutes we hold do not give each member's vote at these meetings, so no vote is counted for Potts and no voting chart is drawn.

Attendance

2 of 2

2 of 2 meetings whose minutes list them.

The typical member of this committee attended 86% (the median of 31 members listed at 5 or more meetings).

Every meeting

Each square is a meeting whose minutes list them, oldest first.

Present
2026

County Planning Committee: 2 meetings

Show as a table
Every meeting
DateCommitteeAttendance
8 Jul 2026County Planning CommitteePresent
2 Jun 2026County Planning CommitteePresent

Decisions

Every application decided at a meeting they sat on, newest first, with their vote where the minutes give it.

Their vote
Outcome

In the minutes

What the minutes record Potts moving, seconding, asking or saying on each decision, in the minutes’ own words. Passages that name more than one councillor, or a member of the public, are left out.

Subjects in what the minutes record

  • Asked about flooding and drainage
    “Councillor Potts queried the cumulative impacts of the development, fire water storage, and drainage arrangements.”
    Minutes, 8 Jul 2026, Land East Of Carrs Farm South Hetton
  • Raised concerns
    “Councillor Potts was concerned about the lack of detailed information relating to fire water containment and disposal. He also remained concerned regarding the environmental consequences of any significant battery fire and suggested that the proposal should be deferred pending further information.”
    Minutes, 8 Jul 2026, Land East Of Carrs Farm South Hetton
  • Asked about design and scale
    “Councillor Potts queried the effectiveness of the proposed landscaping and sought clarification of the timescale required for screening vegetation to mature as he was concerned by the duration of the visual impacts.”
    Minutes, 8 Jul 2026, Land To The East Of Stockton Road Seaham
  • Asked a question
    “Councillor Potts also questioned the employment benefits claimed for the development and asked what long-term employment opportunities would result from the scheme.”
    Minutes, 8 Jul 2026, Land To The East Of Stockton Road Seaham
  • Asked a question
    “Councillor Potts questioned whether accident data remained as reliable as it had once been, noting that changes to police recording practices meant that many non-injury collisions were no longer formally recorded. He expressed concern that Members were being asked to place considerable weight upon statistics that may no longer present a complete picture of conditions on the ground.”
    Minutes, 8 Jul 2026, Land To The North East Of Explorer House Iveston Lane Iveston
  • Spoke on highway safety
    “Councillor Potts did not consider that this data was robust enough when considering road safety measures.”
    Minutes, 8 Jul 2026, Land To The North East Of Explorer House Iveston Lane Iveston
  • Asked a question
    “Councillor Potts asked whether any figures could be provided on the number of unoccupied dwellings.”
    Minutes, 8 Jul 2026, Land To The North East Of Explorer House Iveston Lane Iveston
  • Raised concerns about the conditions
    “Councillor Potts reiterated his concern with regards to insufficient accident data, and he suggested that conditions may need adjusting so that similar issues did not arise in future.”
    Minutes, 8 Jul 2026, Land To The North East Of Explorer House Iveston Lane Iveston
  • Asked a question
    “In response to a question from Councillor Potts regarding whether the PBSA could change to another use, the Senior Planning Officer confirmed that planning permission would be required to change to another use including other accommodation types.”
    Minutes, 2 Jun 2026, Prince Bishops Shopping Centre High Street Durham

How this is worked out

Everything here is read from Durham’s published planning committee minutes, 34 meetings from September 2025 to September 2026. A councillor is matched across meetings by the council’s own member number where it has one, otherwise by full name.

Each vote shows how it is known. Named in the minutes: the minutes, or the council’s own recorded vote, list each member with their vote. From the count and the names: the minutes give the numbers and name the members in the minority, and every member present is known. All members present in favour: the minutes say every member voted for it and the members present are known. No vote against recorded: the minutes record the decision with no vote against, no abstention and no count, at a council whose minutes print a divided vote when there is one, so each member present is counted for. Unanimous vote: the minutes call the decision unanimous, or give a count with no one against and no one abstaining, and each member present is counted for. From the meeting recording: the vote was heard on the council’s recording of the meeting and closes exactly with the members present. Where none of these holds, the vote is left as “Not recorded” and is not counted.

Votes are on the resolution the committee passed, so a vote for is a vote with the majority. A vote is a decision on the application in front of the committee, not a statement of the councillor’s views. A percentage is shown only with five or more votes, decisions or meetings behind it.

Source: Plota analysis of the council’s minutes. The party is from the council’s own list of councillors.

Also on this committee

All Durham committee councillors