Guidance on commenting on a planning application

PLEASE NOTE:
If you are commenting on a HOUSEHOLDER planning application, which is then refused permission and the applicant subsequently submits an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, you will NOT have any further opportunity to comment on that application. Any comments you submitted on the original application will however be forwarded to the Planning Inspectorate. This is a national system introduced by the Planning Inspectorate in April 2009.

For all other applications, comments on appeals must be sent directly to the Planning Inspectorate (www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk).

Your views

Your comments, whether they object to or support the proposals, will be taken into account when assessing the application

• they may help identify those parts of the proposal that may be unsatisfactory or a potential cause for concern

• we may decide to request amendments or impose conditions to made the proposals acceptable

• please note that local opposition is not in itself a ground for refusal, unless it is based on valid planning reasons; and your objections – no matter how valid you feel they are – may not justify the Council in refusing planning permission

• we impose a 21-day period for commenting on a planning application but we accept comments right up to the time when the case officer finalises his or her report

• the nature of your comment should be relevant both to planning and to the particular application in question

• comments that are considered to be inappropriate or offensive may result in the whole of your response being ignored.

Types of issue to raise

The planning system seeks to regulate the development and use of land in the public interest and the local planning authority has to strike a balance between allowing development where it is appropriate, whilst ensuring that the character or amenity of the area are not adversely affected by extensions, new buildings or changes in the use of existing buildings or land. Planning applications have to be considered on their individual merits, taking into account relevant planning policies (The Local Development Plan Review 1994 and national planning policies), and any other material planning considerations, for example:

• the general appearance, design and visual impact of the proposal

• the size, height and scale of the development

• potential loss of light, overshadowing or overlooking

• concern about crime

• effects on trees and the natural environment

• traffic impact and highway safety

• potential noise and disturbance from car parking

• the impact of the proposal on your amenity or the character of the area

• matters of policy

• any other potential effect on your amenity or that of the locality.
  

Types of issue not to raise

Objections to loss of light to windows of non-habitable rooms, such as landings or bathrooms, or to secondary windows to habitable rooms, would not usually be considered as relevant.

Objections on non-planning grounds cannot be taken into account, for example:

• loss of property value

• disputes about the position of a boundary

• competition from new business

• restrictive covenants

• conflict with other laws, for example the Building Regulations which are intended to ensure that buildings are safe and habitable.