I want to comment on a planning application
- How do I comment on a planning application?
- What comments are taken into account?
- Who can comment?
- What happens to my comments?
- GDPR & Privacy Statement
- View planning applications
How do I comment on a planning application?
When a planning application is valid, we send out neighbour consultation letters in accordance with our Statement of Community Involvement.
If you have received a consultation letter, you can follow the link within your letter to our online comments portal.
We receive thousands of comments on applications each year, so it is not possible to acknowledge receipt of, or to respond to, your comments directly and it is our policy not to do so. You can, however, be assured that all valid comments are considered.
Due to the amount of comments we receive, our preferred method of receiving comments is via our online portal (by following the link below, you are agreeing to these terms and conditions).
You can comment online on an application even if you have not been formally consulted. We must receive your written comments within 21 days of the start of the consultation period.
Who can comment?
Anyone can comment on a planning application during the consultation period.
We are unable to record or consider comments if they:
- are made verbally
- are made in person
- are made by telephone
- are posted onto any social media web pages, including our own pages
- contain offensive, defamatory or discriminatory language
Comments can be statements of support, objection or general comments about an application.
However, if the comment is a statement of objection, only certain issues (known as material planning considerations) will be taken into account in deciding the planning application. When making a comment, please avoid making any statements that could compromise the security of your premises, such as holiday dates or details of when the property is left empty.
What happens to my comments?
Your contact details and comment are recorded on our secure planning system.
If you have requested to be entirely anonymised, only your comment will be recorded.
We operate a policy where we do not publish any neighbour comments on our website. Our online planning register records numbers of objections, in support and general comment received. No neighbour addresses are published.
If an application is decided by the development control committee, you will be advised of the date, time and location of the meeting and whether you have a right to speak at it, in line with the current policy. If you have not provided any contact details or submitted an anonymous comment, we will not be able to inform you of any committee and / or appeal details.
Details of the important dates relating to the application, including the target date for its determination and the outcome, can be found on the online planning register so we will not formally notify you of the outcome of an application.
All written responses and comments on planning applications will be recorded. Specific reasons as to why you gave this response are useful with the decision making. Multiple responses from the same individual will only be counted as 1 response.
If the application goes to appeal, the Planning Inspectorate will need sight of all comments. These will be redacted (personal details removed) and provided to the Planning Inspectorate. They will also be published to our website once we have received confirmation by the Planning Inspector that the appeal is valid.
We understand that it is sometimes useful to view comments but, unfortunately, due to the volume of comments we receive, we cannot provide this as a general service. Contact the case officer in the first instance, who will provide a summary of the comments. If redacted copies are required, please complete the form below for decided cases only and a timescale will be advised. For live cases please liaise with the case officer.
GDPR & Privacy Statement
Under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) we are required to inform you how your comment is logged.
Your contact details and comment are recorded on our secure planning system. In accordance with GDPR, we do not publish any neighbour comments on our website.
Our online planning register records numbers of objections, in support and general comment received only. No neighbour addresses are published.
You can choose not to provide your name and address when submitting comments. If you choose not to provide your name and address, or you provide these details but request to be anonymised, only your comment will be logged.
We will be unable to consider the harm or otherwise from a scheme to the representor's property or amenities where the representation is anonymised, and the location of the property is not disclosed. This means we will not be able to assess the impact of the proposed development in relation to your property and will not be able to update you about progress with the application, although this information will still be available to view on our website.
What comments are taken into account?
We can only consider planning comments about planning related issues, these are called material planning considerations. The list below provides some examples, please note this list is not exhaustive and there maybe other material planning considerations that exist.
In the course of reaching a decision on the application, each relevant material consideration is given weight according to its seriousness and relative importance. In dealing with issues raised, if a suitable planning condition can be used to overcome problems, we are required to consider this option as an alternative to refusing the application.
There are issues that cannot be considered and are not relevant to the decision making process these are often referred to as ‘non-material’ planning considerations. The following are some examples, as above the list is not exhaustive.