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planning-applications.co.uk |
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In this Section we consider the progress of your application once all
the forms, plans and documents have been submitted. Consider the application
process first and follow the NEXT
links
as before.
THE
PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING
GO BACK TO MAKING
AN APPLICATION
planning-applications.co.uk
You've
submitted your planning application. What happens next?
1. CHECKING
The application will be checked first to ensure it contains
all the necessary information, plans and other details and that the correct
planning fee has been paid.
The Council planning department will then issue you with a
letter confirming that your application has been received and it will be given
a discrete reference number (e.g. 99/1234) which you should refer to in any
future contacts with the Council.
This letter will also indicate the approximate date by which a
decision should have been made. The Council is bound to determine as many
applications as possible within an 8-week period from the date of submission,
but the exact period may alter slightly due to committee dates and other
factors. Delays may also occur if further information is requested, a site
visit is required by the committee, or time is allowed in order to overcome
problems.
2. CONSULTATION
The planning department will allocate your application to a
planning officer (sometimes referred to as your Case Officer) who will
undertake the formal assessment of your proposal. The planning officer will
send a copy of your application to a number of relevant organisations for
consultation purposes. The CONSULTATION PERIOD lasts for a period of 21 days.
The consultees will include the Parish Council, highway authority, water board
etc but will vary depending upon the scale and complexity of the proposal.
The planning officer will consider the application against
all the relevant Local Plan policies and other planning legislation. A site
inspection will be made to assess the proposal in relation to its surroundings
and the property itself. Although normally this will be done without troubling
you, arrangements for access may need to be made.
It is about this time - say 3-4 weeks after the application
has been submitted that you may find it useful to contact your Case Officer to
check whether he needs any further information. [See Keeping in
Touch]
The officer will review the responses received from the
consultation process and then draft a report on your proposal. This may be a
simple assessment in straightforward cases, where a delegated decision can be
made, or a fully detailed report for submission to the planning committee.
Authorities adopt differing approaches. Delegated decisions are those which the Council has agreed
can be made by the planning officers themselves without putting the application
before the planning committee.
The report will normally contain the officers' recommendation
to grant or refuse permission. Even though a particular recommendation has been
made in the report, this does not mean that the final committee decision will
agree with it.
4. THE DECISION
The
officers' report will be presented to the planning committee for their
consideration, or dealt with under delegated powers. [See Delegated Decisions].
The
committee will consider the officers' recommendation and arrive at their
decision by means of a vote. This does not always follow the officers'
recommendation. A recommendation for approval could be turned down and vice
versa. In all cases the committee must arrive at their decision on 'planning'
grounds, not because they personally like or dislike what you propose or for
other non-planning reasons.
The committee may defer the
application to a later date (usually the next committee meeting 3-4 weeks
later) to allow minor alterations or agreements to be made, or so that members
can visit the site. They may approve in principal, allowing other matters of
detail to be handled by officers, who may then issue a decision without going
back for committee approval.
THE NOTICE
Once
the decision has been made the Council will issue a formal decision notice a
few days later. This will set out the decision (either approval or refusal) and
any conditions that must be adhered to in undertaking the scheme, or the ground
on which the refusal was made.
For Further Details on Understanding Decision Notices
click here: [Decisions]
NEXT
Keeping In Touch
However
confident you are that your application is likely to be approved, it is always
wise to check with the planning department whilst your application is being
processed.
There
are several reasons for this: -
There may still be aspects of your proposal about which the
planning officer could benefit from a more detailed explanation. He may contact
you anyway for more information, but it never hurts to check. The officers are
under no obligation to discuss your application with you and cannot divulge the
identity of any third party comments.
You can possibly establish whether there have been any
objections and if there are any changes you can make which would overcome them.
Much better to find this out early-on, rather than on the day of the committee
meeting.
You can establish the method by which your application will
be determined; i.e. by a delegated decision of officers, or at a full committee
meeting. If the application is going to committee you can establish the likely date,
venue and time of the meeting. In some authorities you may be allowed to
address the committee directly. [See Planning Committee below]
Three working days before the application is considered at a
planning committee the agenda for that committee must be published for public
inspection. This agenda will contain all the planning officers' reports
including his recommendation about your proposal. You should check this to find
out the officers views and the possible outcome of the committee meeting. These
reports are increasingly available online through the councils website.
NEXT
Delegated
Decisions
In
order to speed up the decision making process local authorities are
increasingly adopting a procedure which allows the chief planning officer or
other senior planning officers to make decisions without referring the
application to a full planning committee.
This
is known as making a decision under Delegated Powers.
The
nature and extent of these powers varies from one authority to another.
Delegated Powers are formally voted on by committee under the Councils'
Standing Orders and will set out the range of applications that may be
determined in this way and the various procedural rules that must be adhered
to. It is usual for a list of delegated decisions to be reported to the
planning committee at each meeting for information and as a public record.
The
Delegated procedure is most often applied in circumstances where there are no
complex issues, or the proposal is wholly acceptable in planning terms and
there are no objections raised.
This
does not mean that only approvals are handled under delegated powers. Where a
planning application is clearly not in accordance with planning policies or
practice, then the planning officers may issue an early refusal under delegated
powers, rather than refer a matter to committee.
NEXT
The
Planning Committee Meeting
Until
the introduction and wider acceptance of the Delegated Powers procedure almost
all planning applications were considered at a planning committee meeting.
Members
of the committee, who are elected Councillors, meet on a regular basis to
determine planning applications and to hear and decide upon a range of other
administrative and planning related matters.
Meetings
are usually held on a monthly basis, but some authorities work on a more
frequently committee cycle because of the number of applications being
received.
In
some areas there are sub-committees who make the initial decisions, which might
then have to be considered at a full committee for a final decision.
Assuming
your application is not decided early under Delegated Powers, the officer will report to the
committee that occurs at or about 8-weeks after you submitted the application
(all other things being equal).
You
can read the officers report, which must be published at least three days
before the committee sits. This will be available at the planning office and
increasingly online.
If the recommendation is for refusal, you should check with
the officer immediately to see if there is anything you can do to rectify
matters. If not, you may wish to consider an immediate withdrawal of the
application to avoid a formal decision being made.
Even
if your application is recommended for approval it is probably worthwhile, even
in minor cases, attending the committee meeting. You can hear what is said, how
the committee voted and you get to know the result instantly, ahead of the
formal decision notice. (This may be a good or bad thing depending upon the
decision!!)
In
more controversial cases your presence may help members to recognise your
commitment to the proposal and that you are not taking their decision making
process lightly. Taking committee's decisions for granted is, in my experience,
a common mistake. After all, the planning system is a democratic process and
voting can be close; one way or the other.
There
are some committees that allow limited public representation to members. This
arrangement allows applicants, or their agents, to address the committee
briefly about the proposal and/or answer any questions they may have. Third
parties may also be allowed to speak. Local concerns can sometimes be overcome
at the meeting through the opportunity to agree details or clarify intentions
in front of members. Unfortunately this enlightened approach to the planning
process remains uncommon but is slowly gaining ground around the country. See Attending Committee.
In
most cases you are not allowed to address members in committee and may only
listen to the debate from the general public area of the committee room. Do not
be tempted to 'comment' openly (or even under your breath if you could be
heard) about comments made by councillors. I'm afraid I have seen decisions
swayed by the untimely intervention of third parties and applicants from the
floor of the Council chamber.
If
your Council do operate a system for addressing the committee ALWAYS ATTEND THE
COMMITTEE. You never know who might turn up to comment on your proposal and you
may need to offer an explanation or rebuttal.
The
committee environment can be a daunting prospect to the lay applicant. Most
people may only make one planning application in their life (if at all) and
sitting, or even standing up, in front of a room full of councillors and
officials can be scary. (I know. I do it for a living). However, if you are
able to speak you will have very limited time, so be prepared. It depends upon
the particular system operated by your Council.
In
all cases, have a clear picture of your intentions. You may only be called upon
to answer questions if any arise. Whatever you do not lose your temper,
however frustrating the comments of some members may be. And they can be.
I
well remember watching one fellow suddenly standing up in a committee angry
about a councillor's personal view and threatening to go straight to appeal
unless they approved the proposal. He got his wish. The committee immediately
refused the application en-block. Totally unfair, but it happens.
Whatever the outcome there are still issues to deal with and the
next section considers the decision notice, planning conditions and grounds of
refusal.