When the Council receives a planning application, it consults those people and groups who appear to be most affected and also publicises the application in various ways, including on-site notices, on the Camden Planning website and in a weekly list circulated to libraries/local groups and in local newspapers (for major applications only).  Comments are requested to be received within 21 days.  The Council, after this period, assesses the comments received and the merits of the application and either makes a decision on the application, consults lead Members of the Committee about it under the Members’ Briefing procedure or refers the matter to the Planning Committee.  If the case is to be referred to the Committee, all those who have made comments will be notified of the meeting date.

Where the Director of Regeneration and Planning decides that the Committee should determine the application, an agenda is prepared by the Committee Clerk. The agenda includes a notice of the meeting, a list of items to be considered and reports on the items listed.

The reports are written by planning officers, taking all planning issues, including the results of consultation, into consideration.

The agenda is published 5 clear working days before the meeting and can be viewed on the Council’s website from 5pm on the Wednesday of the week before the meeting.  From that time onwards you can also call to inspect the agenda or collect a copy of the report in which you are interested from the Committee Clerk during office hours.  Copies are available at the meeting.
 

 Each report on the application contains:

• a description of the application
• the number of people who were consulted and replied
• a summary of any comments or objections
• a list of relevant planning policies
• the planning issues which officers have taken into account before making their recommendations
• officers’ recommendations and any conditions considered necessary
• a statement of reasons for any conditions considered or where the officers recommend a refusal of the application.

• write to the Committee with your views (known as making a written submission).  Submissions should not be more than two sides of A4 long, although you can submit additional illustrative material such as photographs if you wish.  Your email, fax or letter should be sent to and received by the Committee Clerk no later than 9am on the day before the meeting.

• ask to speak at the meeting (known as making a deputation).  If you would like to speak at the Committee meeting, you must make the request to the Clerk in writing by email, fax or letter.  Your request needs to include a statement of the issues you want to raise, be no more than two sides of A4 long, and has to be with the Clerk by 9am on the day before the meeting.  If you do not do this, you will lose your chance to speak unless the Chair considers there are exceptional circumstances - e.g. you asked to be informed of the date of the meeting when you first sent in your comments, and it was not done.

• Your name
• An email address and contact telephone number
• The name of any group you represent, whether you are a neighbouring occupier, or whether you are the applicant or an agent
• The address of the application you are writing about; and
• Whether you wish to speak for or against, or whether you are commenting on the application.

• applicants and their agents
• local groups
• neighbouring occupiers (residential or business premises) affected by the application
• owners of any premises which is the subject of an enforcement report.

Any of the above may submit a request to speak either in support or in opposition to officers’ recommendations.

If you are making a deputation, you can only raise issues set out in your deputation statement.  This allows Councillors, officers and the applicant time to fully consider any relevant issues raised.

• Deputations and responses are each limited to five minutes
• Where there is more than one deputation request on the same item, the speakers are encouraged to make a joint deputation for a total of five minutes; otherwise the five minutes is shared out equally between them
• If the time limit is exceeded, the Chair will immediately call for an end to the speech
• The Committee will only agree to accept representations made outside these procedures where there are exceptional circumstances: for example, if someone can show they have been prejudiced by a failure to follow procedures and
• At the meeting, you may not speak to or lobby individual Members or the Committee except as part of a deputation.  You must not pass notes or other documents to Committee Members, as it may compromise their position.

• You must remain seated when speaking and use the microphone
• You must state your name and whether you are an affected residential or business occupier, or the name of the organisation you represent if you are speaking on behalf of a group
• You must be ready to speak when it is your turn, in order to avoid any unnecessary delay
• You must bear in mind that Members will have read the deputation statements and it would be helpful if you were concise and avoided repetition as it is your only chance to make your views heard.

• The Chair takes the item in the order listed on the agenda and announces the proposal
• The planning officer briefly introduces the item
• Deputation (if any) - five minutes
• Deputation response (if any) - five minutes
• Members may put questions to those who have spoken
• Members then debate the matter seeking to avoid repetition of issues already raised and will not hear any additional representations or comments, although they may seek clarification from officers
• When the Chair considers that there has been sufficient debate, he/she will call for a decision.  A vote will be taken on the recommendation in the report unless a motion has been moved by a Member of the Committee altering the recommendation
• Where the Committee decides not to follow officer recommendations, the Chair asks Members to identify specific reasons for this.

The Committee may defer taking a decision on an item in order to make a site visit to clarify some aspect of a scheme. The applicant, agent, objector or other party is contacted to provide access to the site or premises. No formal invitation is sent to other interested parties. You may not make representations or lobby Members if you attend a site visit. Members may ask questions or seek clarification, particularly about the layout of the site, but will not debate the merits of the proposal and no decisions will be made at this point.

There may be occasions when the Director may deem it necessary to invite Members of the Committee to an informal site visit, before an application is submitted to the Committee. This is usually on major applications. This is solely for information purposes and the invitation is not extended to members of the public or applicants. Failure of a Member of the Committee to attend such a site visit would not preclude the Member from participating when the application goes before the Committee.

Applicants who wish to appeal against the refusal of an application or against conditions imposed on a planning permission may do so to:

The Planning Inspectorate,
Temple Quay House,
The Square, Temple Quay,
Bristol,
BS1 6PN.

Email: enquiries@pins.gsi.gov.uk or via www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk. 

There is no right of appeal for any other party and no right of appeal against the approval of a planning application.