Anyone can attend Development Control Committee meetings to hear applications discussed and, in certain circumstances, have their say. We are interested in your views about planning applications. By speaking up, you can become involved in the decision-making process and possibly make a difference to the outcome. 

About Development Control Committees

There are 2 committees. The Development Control Committee has 17 elected councillors and the Strategic Development Control Committee has 9. Planning officers and other council staff also attend to present applications, answer councillors’ queries, and help members of the public. Local press representatives are sometimes there too.

The committees only consider a small proportion of the planning applications we receive. Planning officers decide most applications without reference to the committee. Please follow the link below for more information about who decides planning applications..

Can I speak at Committee?

During the week before each meeting, we write to applicants, their agents and people who have written to us about an application, inviting them to speak. Our letter gives a date and time by which you must confirm your wish to speak. Only people who register in this way are included in the list of speakers. If you wish, you can nominate someone to speak for you.

Sometimes several people wish to speak either for or against an application. When you call to register we will tell you if others are already registered to speak in the same slot. If so, you may wish to contact them and choose someone to act as a spokesperson.

Councillors who wish to speak but do not sit on the committee must ask the Chairman for permission to do so 24 hours before the meeting.

A list of speakers is available the day before the meeting.

How does it work?

Both committees operate in the same way.

Committee members get a detailed report about each application on the agenda. Copies of the agenda and reports are available on our website and at our customer services centre from 5 working days before the meeting. The reports summarise written comments received that raise relevant planning issues. Any comments received subsequently are reported at the meeting.

There may be a lot of debate over some applications; others may be decided quickly so we can’t say when we will reach individual applications. However the agenda is split into sections and we give the earliest time at which each section will start. If there are any applications raising significant planning issues, these are considered first.

How is each application considered?

Our staff present the main points of the report and any late items. The Chairman then asks whether any District Councillor would like to speak before inviting any speakers to address the committee in the following order:

• representative(s) of each town or parish council
• objectors
• applicant, agent and supporters

Each of the above three groups have a maximum of 5 minutes in total, regardless of the number of speakers. Normally objectors and supporters speak in the order in which they contacted us. It may be that not all those registered to speak will be able to, if those presenting first use up all of the 5 minutes.   Special arrangements may apply for applications with an exceptionally high level of interest.

After any of the speakers, committee members may ask questions to clarify what has been said. The committee then discusses the application and staff answer any questions.

The committee decides most applications at the meeting and do not always follow the recommendation in the report. Sometimes a decision is postponed, for example to allow a panel of councillors to visit the site or to get further information. Sometimes, after considering an application, the committee passes it to staff to decide.

What should I do?

When you arrive at the meeting, please report to the steward, who will note your presence and help you with any queries.

Speaking gives you the chance to say why you think the application should be approved or refused and to stress the issues you think are most important. Your comments should be relevant planning issues that you raised in your letter commenting on the application. Follow this link for details of which issues we can and cannot take into account. It is not helpful to raise new issues when speaking to the committee.

You will not be able to interrupt or question other speakers or committee members. Please raise any queries with the case officer prior to the meeting, or with the steward.

If you wish to circulate a record of what you intend to say, or photographs or plans you will refer to, please deliver them to our office at 66 High Street, no later than 1pm the day before the meeting. We cannot accept documents by email. You should provide sufficient copies (25 for Development Control Committee, 20 for Strategic Development Control Committee) for us to circulate to committee members and council staff before the meeting starts.

What happens next?

Once a decision is made, we send a copy of the decision notice to the agent or applicant within a few days. We also write to anyone who commented on the application, informing them of the decision. If you want to know what decision the committee made on an application, please phone us after 11am on the day following the meeting.

Only the applicant can appeal if they are unhappy about the decision. If an appeal is lodged, we notify everyone who wrote in about the application.

Date Updated: 16/02/10