Community Involvement on Major Applications
Prior to submitting a planning application the Council encourages developers of large or potentially controversial schemes to involve the local community. Such involvement should be carried out at an early stage, enabling the views of the community to be taken on board. Early community involvement can be a way of resolving misunderstandings and tensions, which can arise in the progression of a new planning proposal as well as providing an opportunity for the community to shape proposals within their local community. The Council will itself undertake consultation once a planning application has been submitted, whereas pre-applications are led by the applicant.
Applicants are however encouraged to hold pre-application discussions with the Council. At this stage planning officers can provide technical advice on the proposals and also what forms of consultation might be appropriate.
As a guide, the following list identifies the range of planning applications where the Council will normally encourage to undertake community involvement before they submit their application.
- Residential proposals for more than 50 units or on sites of 1 hectare or more;
- Commercial developments of 1,000m² of gross floor area or a site area exceeding 1 hectare;
- Development proposals on sites larger than 0.5 hectares or that are likely to be locally contentious or generate significant local concern following the submission of the application;
- Applications that entail proposals that are significantly taller than surrounding buildings;
- Applications that would depart from the adopted Development Plan;
- Applications that entail Environmental Impact Assessments;
- Major road or transport proposals.
Appropriate consultation arrangements will vary depending on the type and scale of development proposed. Annex 2 of the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement lists various consultation methods.
The results of any pre-application consultation with the community should be reported as part of the submitted application and should indicate:
- The methods of consultation used to engage community participation, including hard to reach groups;
- Who was consulted and the level of involvement;
- The quantitative and qualitative findings of the consultation; and
- How matters raised in consultation were taken into account in the submitted development proposals.
Where the council and applicant have undertaken pre-application discussions and agreement has been reached in respect of the details of the application and the community involvement to be undertaken, the Council will also agree with the applicant a timetable for the decision on the submitted application.