Better "protection" is needed for local councils who come up against builders who deliberately defy planning regulations.
That is the argument that Cllr Ian Courts, Solihull Council's cabinet member for managed growth, has made in his submission to the Government this month.
Writing to the Housing Secretary, Cllr Courts has emphasised the need to tackle those who choose to flout the law as part of an effort to "restore credibility" in the planning process.
He also called for "beefed up" protection for trees and other natural features and for greater consideration to be given to the space around dwellings.
The letter has been sent after the Government launched a country-wide consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
"[There is] nothing new in this," said Cllr Courts, in reference to the points he made in his submission. "It's what I've been bleating for years and will continue to do so."
The correspondence follows the managed growth decision-making session last month, during which councillors debated some of the main challenges facing the borough.
At the meeting, concerns were raised about planning applications in which a developer departed from the plans that had previously been approved by the council's planning committee, resulting in buildings which, in some cases, were drastically different from those granted permission.
And frustrations were also aired about a separate issue, relating to the rising number of cases of developers electing to cut down trees ahead of lodging an application with the council.
Last week, Cllr Ken Hawkins (Con, Blythe) joined the chorus of objections to the practice, condemning the "ecological destruction" he had witnessed in his own ward and said he had been very angry to see trees, some of which are thought to have been over 100-years-old, hacked down.
He said the law should be looked at in order to put a stop to the practice.
The NPPF consultation came to an end earlier this month and the responses received will now feed into the next stage of the process.
