Comments on planning applications are published on Public Access, so you should only say what you are happy for anyone to read. Objections or supporting comments on applications must be impersonal and should concentrate on the planning issues relevant to the proposal. We reserve the right to remove comments that it thinks might be libellous or abusive. To avoid problems we recommend that you:
- do not mention other people - concentrate on the proposal instead
- do not suggest that anything another person has said is untrue
We will remove or obscure personal data such as your signature, telephone number or email address but your name and postal address will be visible.
We can only take account of things that are relevant to planning and to the application. This will always be a matter of judgement depending on the case but some things are never relevant:
- impact on property values
- ownership and access disputes, covenants and other private property matters
- loss of a private view
- commercial competition between firms
- the motives or morals of the applicant or any other person
- matters controlled by other laws such as licensing or health and safety
Some of these, such as ownership disputes or licensing laws, might prevent the applicant from carrying out the development, but they are not planning issues.
The fastest way to have your comments processed and published is to use the Public Access system. Using the Public Access system you should normally see your comments posted within the next day. Any comments received via the email box or post will normally require up to ten working days to be processed and published.