Responding to planning applications

Hathern Parish Council policy on arrangements for responding to planning applications

Role of the Parish Council

Hathern Parish Council is invited by the planning authority (Charnwood Borough Council) to comment on all planning applications that have an impact on the village. Comments are passed to the planning authority and are considered in exactly the same way as are comments by local residents; this is to say the Parish Council must restrict its comments to material planning considerations and has no additional power to influence planning decisions.

The Parish Council takes the view that it should focus its comments on material planning considerations related to the village as a whole; these include the following:

• Adequacy of parking/loading/turning
• Highway safety
• Traffic generation
• visual amenity
• Noise and disturbance resulting from use
• Hazardous materials
• Smells
• Loss of trees
• Effect on listed building and conservation area
• Design, appearance and materials
• Road access
• Local strategic, regional and planning policies
• Nature conservation

The Parish Council will not comment on issues concerning overlooking/loss of privacy or loss of light or overshadowing. These and other issues relating to the immediate vicinity are more properly dealt with by residents directly affected.

An open process

As a public authority Hathern Parish Council is required to conduct its business openly and fairly. For this reason our arrangements for commenting on planning applications are open to public scrutiny and this document sets out how the process is conducted.

The process

• Details of the Parish Councils policy on commenting on planning applications will be posted on the Hathern Parish Council website: http://www.hathernparishcouncil.org.uk/ Printed copies will be made available upon request to the Clerk to the Parish Council.
• A copy of the planning application is circulated to all Parish Councillors for them to make their individual comments.
• Residents who wish to make their observations or comments known to Councillors may do so through the Clerk to the Parish Council.
• The Chairman (or Vice Chairman) of the Parish Council and the Clerk will jointly interpret the Councillors comments and this interpretation will form the basis for the Clerk’s formal response to Charnwood Borough Council.
• Copies of the formal response will be circulated to all Councillors and posted on the Hathern Parish Council website. Printed copies will be made available upon request to the Clerk to the Parish Council.
• The process will be kept under constant review and all Councillors may call for an immediate review of any individual response or of the policy as a whole.

Further information:

Mrs M.A. Spencer
Clerk to the Parish Council
(contact details on front page of website)

Adopted by Hathern Parish Council at its meeting held on 17 th December 2007