Planning committee procedures

The committee has the responsibility to determine the most important or significant applications.

Who are the people on the committee?

In the centre at the front sits the Chair, who is a councillor appointed by us for this role. To his/her side are officers employed by us to advise on planning, legal and administrative matters.

The planning officers will usually include the head of planning services and other planning officers who will present individual cases.

Sometimes, specialist policy, legal or design officers will also attend.

Members of the committee sit around the table facing the chairman. They are all elected borough councillors.

Members of the public and the applicant are entitled to be present but may not speak unless they have registered for the public speaking scheme.

How is business dealt with?

The chairman will open the meeting and deal with any administrative matters, such as apologies from those who cannot attend. A vote will be taken on the minutes of the previous meeting. The chairman will also remind councillors and officers that they have a duty to declare any interest in items on the agenda.

Each item on the agenda is introduced by the chairman. There is normally a comprehensive written report circulated with the agenda. This report is available for viewing five working days prior to the committee date on our website. The chairman will then ask an officer to present the report, bringing it up to date if necessary. Any speakers will then be heard.

The chair invites questions and views from the members and the officer will reply whenever necessary.

Next, a motion will be proposed and seconded, debated if necessary, and a vote taken. In the event of a tie, the Chair has a second or casting vote.

There are three possible decisions:

Approve: usually subject to conditions, which must be reasonable and may be challenged on appeal to the Secretary of State.

Refuse: sound planning reasons must be given which the authority may have to substantiate in the event of an appeal. A refusal may be agreed upon even though the principle of development is acceptable. In these cases, the applicant may wish to resubmit an amended application.

Defer: if all the information needed to make a decision is not available or to allow time for further action before the decision is finally made. Deferment is rare.

Where the committee decision is different to the officer's recommendation, the committee are required to give reasons and these are minuted.

What is the basis for a decision?

Decisions must be based on planning issues, for example:

central government guidance
regional policy
local policy
highway safety
landscape impact
local amenity, noise, privacy
case law and previous decisions
conservation of buildings, trees etc
appearance

The following examples are not normally planning issues:

reduction in property values
ownership disputes
business competition
moral considerations
restrictive covenants
personal circumstances or private rights
matters controlled by other legislation (for example, licensing)

A retrospective application submitted after work has been carried out has to be determined on its planning merits like any other. Even if many people object, permission cannot be refused without good planning reasons.

Planning and development committee site visits

The general position is that it is for members of the committee to familiarise themselves with the issues material to a decision, including site-specific matters as they deem appropriate. In certain instances, a collective visit to which all committee members are invited will be arranged to view a site that is the subject of planning application due to be considered at the planning and development committee. Typically this will be where there are very particular site-specific issues that would benefit from clear viewing and explanation. Attendance by members at site visits is encouraged but not mandatory, and a failure to attend does not automatically bar a member from taking part in the debate and decision at the committee meeting proper. It would be for the member to decide whether their absence from the site visit meant they were lacking sufficient information such that they should recuse themselves from the formal decision. The site visit will normally be programmed to take place in the period between the publication of the agenda for the committee meeting and the meeting itself. When such visits are arranged it is important for all parties to be aware that whilst this is not a formal decision-making meeting in and of its own right, it must be conducted in an appropriate and professional manner. All parties are therefore asked to be aware of and follow the protocol for committee site visits.

Protocol for committee site visits:

Site visits are solely for the purpose of viewing the site, understanding its location and immediate environs to be able to put the development proposal into context, and seeking clarification of the facts of the application.

Application sites are usually in private ownership onto which interested parties do not have a right of access and therefore interested parties, such as objectors, will not normally be able to attend or accompany the committee on a site visit. In instances in which they have obtained specific access consent, or on publically accessible land, third parties (such as applicants/agents, local members) must not seek to engage with members of the planning committee. The opportunity to address members of the planning committee at the committee meeting is governed by the public speaking process. Members of the committee should not directly engage any third party person present and should address any questions to the officers present through the chairman.

Third parties (such as applicants/agents) will only be asked a question directly by officers through the chairman where officers are either unable to answer the point raised for example, where a factual query about the process/company is not directly related to planning, or the applicant/agent is best placed to answer it owing to specialist knowledge etc.

All committee members need to ensure that they can hear the officers’ presentation and the questions and answers, and should stay together as a single group.

The chairman will seek confirmation that members are satisfied they have seen everything they need to make a decision and will draw the site inspection to a close.

Before, during and after the site visit members of the committee should politely avoid engaging in private conversations with applicants, agents or any other third parties including objectors as this can give the wrong impression to others present or anyone observing the site visit.

For the purposes of the factual record, attendance at a site visit will be recorded by the lead officer including the locations visited.

As the purpose of the visit is not to debate but simply to establish facts about the site and its surroundings, no formal notes of a site visit will be recorded, other than the attendance and locations visited as noted above.

Members should avoid discussing the merits of the application with each other during the course of the site visit.

What if I don't like the decision?

The applicant may appeal to the Secretary of State against refusal or the imposition of conditions. If at appeal either the appellant or the council is held to have behaved unreasonably, costs may be awarded to the other side.

A third party (for example, a neighbour) has no right of appeal to the Secretary of State, but there are other options:

our internal complaints procedure (complaints about the conduct of Members or Officers)
the Ombudsman (complaints about the way a matter has been handled - not about the decision itself)
judicial review in the High Court

Further information about the first two options is available by contacting us, but the third requires expert advice from a solicitor.

The planning and development committee meets approximately every three weeks.

Public speaking at committees

We operate a scheme which allows a limited right for the public to speak at planning committees. This information explains the rules of the scheme and how and when the public can speak. The scheme only relates to the planning and development committee and to planning and related applications.

About 90% of all applications are decided by officers and not considered by councillors at the committee. These delegated applications are not subject to public speaking. When an application is received, a provisional decision is made as to whether it is a delegated case or a committee case.

Who can speak at the committee?

Three people can speak to the committee in relation to any one planning application. One speaker can represent the applicant and one speaker can represent the objector(s), and one speaker can represent the parish or town council.

The speaker representing the applicant must have the permission of the applicant to represent him/her.

An applicant can speak even though an objector does not, and vice-versa.

The speaker representing the objector(s) can be a neighbour, an interested individual or a representative of a residents' association/ amenity group or from a town council/ parish council.

The speaker for the town or parish council must be a member of the parish or town council and should speak on behalf of the parish council and not as an individual. A parish or town council representative can only speak in relation to an application within the parish or town boundary.

In addition to the above, the division councillor for the area in which the application is located may address the committee (if not a member of the committee) at the discretion of the chair. Speaking at the committee is voluntary and no party is obliged to attend the committee to speak.

How are speakers selected?

The applicant may speak for themselves or elect someone on their behalf. One other member of the public may speak in support of an application if the applicant chooses not to do so, and the applicant will be advised of their interest.

Where more than one objector wishes to attend the committee, we will only permit the first person to register to speak unless he/she submits an alternative name.

All speakers must register their wish to speak at least two clear working days before the date of the committee meeting. To register please email us.

All speakers who have registered will be informed of the actual committee date when the agenda is finalised. Speakers cannot turn up to speak at the committee without the due notice being given.

What can speakers say?

Speakers have three minutes to state their views. Information already given to members in the officer's report or in letters of objection need not be repeated by speakers.

The division councillor is not limited to three minutes, but the chair may impose a time limit as to the length of the address.

Speakers should confine their comments to matters relevant to the planning application. The following is a brief summary of matters which do not normally influence a decision on whether to grant planning permission:

civil disputes between neighbours
alleged increase or decrease in property values
loss of a private view
a developer's character, morals, motives or financial circumstances
matters covered by other legislation (public health, licensing etc)
restrictive covenants

Speakers should not introduce new information, make new promises, verbally amend the application or attempt to negotiate with the committee or hand in or circulate written material of photographs on the day of the committee. If an applicant introduces this type of information, the chair may stop the speaker and invite the committee to consider the application on the basis of existing information. If there is a need to add new material to written comments already submitted, speakers should send copies to the relevant planning officer a week before the meeting so that it can be properly taken into account.

The chairman reserves the right to stop or eject the speaker.

What happens at the committee?

Speakers should arrive at the committee room shortly before the start of the meeting to register attendance with the public speaking officer and be seated in a reserved area in the committee room.

A planning officer will introduce the application, provide any recent information not included in the written report and provide a verbal recommendation. The chair will then introduce the speaker(s) to the committee and ask the speaker(s) in turn to make his/her comments. The chair will ask the speaker to stop precisely on three minutes.

The applicant’s representative usually speaks first followed by the objector followed by the parish representative and then the division councillor.

Speakers and councillors of the committee cannot interrupt or cross-examine each other. The officer or councillors may comment on the facts presented by a speaker but will not engage in any further discussion with the speaker.

When an application goes to the committee

During the processing of a planning application by officers, applicants can ask the case officer about the likely recommendation and when the application is likely to be considered by the committee. This is also indicated within the application details which can be viewed using Public Access - our online planning register. The officer's report and recommendation are prepared about seven working days before the committee and are publicly available five clear working days beforehand. The written recommendation may not be made at this stage if more information is awaited. A verbal recommendation will always be made by an officer at the committee.

On occasion, an application may have changed or been withdrawn by the applicant. Regrettably, this is unavoidable, however, we will try to contact speakers as soon as we are aware of this.

Is public speaking compulsory?

No one is obliged to speak at the committee. Speaking at committee supplements and does not replace written comments. Persons wishing to speak should always put their views in writing before the committee meeting.

Information about the public speaking scheme

Information on the scheme will be included in all consultation letters and site notices to the public.

Applicants or their agents will be informed of the scheme when the application is registered.

Who can help?

All enquiries about public speaking should be made to planning.services.sca@northyorks.gov.uk

When contacting us, please provide the reference number of the application and make it clear that you wish to register to speak at the committee. We will also need to know if you are for or against the application and your position.

The planning and development committee meets every three weeks.

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