Dear All,

Planning is obviously a key element of what CDC does in our area. As the Local Planning Authority, they have the job of reviewing and ultimately approving or denying applications relating to development - large and small. In the normal process, if an application receives no objections, then the LPA uses a system known as the Scheme of Delegation. This basically means that a Planning Officer will make a recommendation, which is then reviewed by senior planners within CDC and a decision notice is issued. If, however, an objection is lodged, then the officer must refer their recommendation to the Ward member, with a view to ascertaining if any further scrutiny of the recommendation is required. At this point, the Ward member has 7 business days to contact the relevant parties and take feedback on any concerns. If sufficient information is forthcoming, the Ward member can request a referral to the Planning Committee Agenda Review Panel, who will decide if it merits a hearing at Committee. Nb. This occurs at the end of the process when all relevant information from the statutory consultees such as Highways, Landscape or Conservation have been received.

As some of you may remember, a while ago CDC proposed a change to this planning process. From the 1^st of April this year, the Ward member will now have 28 days from the time of validation, to decide if they would like to take the option of a referral. The wording is:

The above application/notification has been lodged in your Ward.
The application form, plans, and accompanying documents are available to view online using the following link for your information only: Public Access Members have 28 days from the date of this letter to make a referral to the Planning and Licensing Committee Review Panel to consider whether the application should be heard by the Committee. Should you require further time, then you can email the case officer to ask for an extension of time for you to make your referral request to the Review Panel. Please remember to state the reason why you believe an extension of time is required. In the event of no request being made within 28 days of the application being received, the application will be determined under delegated authority in line with the Scheme of Delegation contained within the Council's Constitution. If you would like to make a referral, please complete this pro-forma

Nb. To ask for an extension, there must be a valid planning reason - missing plans, lack of feedback from a key expert, i.e. Highways etc. - and the expectation is that the extension be no longer than a week. As Ward members, we have been told that this change will allow us to engage with the officer at an earlier stage in the process, but to be completely frank, my opinion on an application should only ever reflect that of the residents. I should at all times remain neutral on an application until such time as I have heard from the people that will be most affected, usually neighbours, and seen the views of the 'experts'.The reason for this email is to raise awareness of this change so that Parish Councillors can adjust, if required, their internal systems of reviewing planning applications in their parish. Given that some PCs meet less frequently than others, fitting in to the 4-, possibly 5-week window may need some juggling of diaries! Unless there is an obvious concern regarding an application, it is difficult to envisage a situation where I would automatically ask for a committee review, especially if I have seen no objections. This effectively means that after 28 days, residents/PCs will no longer have the option to request a 'call in', regardless of their concerns. I have asked CDC to issue an official communication educating residents about the new rules - stay tuned. Finally, please do impress on your residents that if they have a view on an application - for or against, or just a general observation - it is now imperative that they post those comments on the Planning Portal ASAP. This will give me the time to review that local feedback in time to have additional conversations with the relevant parties and hopefully within the new deadline. Not every decision needs to go to the Committee, but if we want to retain that option, we need to adjust how we approach this process. Any questions, please give me a shout.

Best regards,

David David Cunningham Ward Councillor Fossebridge, Cotswold District Council07753 755503