Once the agenda has been published there is an opportunity to submit comments to the Committee on an application which it is due to hear at that meeting. These are separate comments to any you might have made during the earlier part of the process.
You should not contact members of the Planning Committee directly. Instead you should either:
- write to the Committee with your views - known as making a written submission; or
- ask to address the Committee at the meeting - known as making a deputation. This must be accompanied by a statement provided in advance, setting out the issues you want to raise with the Committee. The Committee will only accept deputation requests from people or organisations who have a planning-related interest that could be affected directly by the proposal such as applicants, neighbouring occupiers and local groups.
If you are planning to make a deputation, you may wish to read the Council’s deputation webpages, particularly for guidance on how deputations work at remote meetings.
You cannot submit both a written submission and a deputation statement.
Deputations statements and written submissions must be:
- received by the Committee Clerk by 9am on the working day before the meeting. They can be submitted via email, fax or letter. Any written submissions or deputations request not received by this time will not be provided to the Committee for their consideration except in exceptional circumstances.
- no more than two sides of A4 paper long, though any photographs, diagrams or other images you wish to provide do not count towards this limit. You can have any illustrative material included with a deputation statement displayed on screen when making your deputation as long as you have indicated in advance you would like this.
When sending in a written submission or deputation request, please ensure you provide the following information to assist us in processing your request:
- the name of the lead speaker for the deputation in case of connection issues. If the identified speaker’s connection fails when the item under consideration is the item on which they have asked to address the committee, the meeting will be adjourned or the Chair may choose to move to another item if appropriate while the connection is re-established. You may list other names, but where the connection of another member of the deputation party is interrupted, the Chair will not ordinarily adjourn the meeting but will have the discretion to do so where considered appropriate.
- 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
- whether your comments are a written submission or deputation statement. For a deputation request it should also be clear if you wish to speak for, against or in neutral terms on the application.
Your submission/statement should only deal with the planning issues of an application, such as how you and your home might be affected by the proposal. It must not contain anything defamatory or discriminatory. The Council reserves the right to reject any submissions/statements containing defamatory or discriminatory statements.
The Clerk will collate and send all written submissions and deputation statements to the Committee on the day before the meeting as part of a supplementary agenda. This will be published on the Council's website.
All persons making a deputation/written submission should consult our privacy notice.
Rules for applicants and agents
Applicants and agents do not have to submit a deputation statement in advance of the meeting, though they may choose to do so and the same rules apply. Where there are people speaking in objection to an application, the applicant/agent can respond verbally to the points raised. Where there are no objectors, the applicant/agent will not be invited to address the Committee, but may be asked to answer any questions that arise.
The applicant/agent should notify the clerk in writing by 9am the working day before the meeting if they wish to reserve the right to respond to any objectors, setting out the names of the person who would be responding.
For remote meetings, the applicant/agent must submit the name of a lead speaker, in case of connection issues. If the identified speaker’s connection fails when the item under consideration is the item on which they have asked to address the committee, the meeting will be adjourned or the Chair may choose to move to another item if appropriate while the connection is re-established.
You may list other names, but where the connection of another member of the deputation party is interrupted, the Chair will not ordinarily adjourn the meeting but will have the discretion to do so where considered appropriate. Any additional names should be kept to a minimum and should be persons who may genuinely be called to answer questions on matters material to the application.
If the applicant/agent submits a deputation statement, but they are not called to speak, the statement will be treated as a written submission instead.
Rules for councillors
Councillors may also make written submissions to the Committee, though they must follow the same rules as for ordinary members of the public in terms of length and submission by the deadline of 9am the working day before the meeting.
Ward councillors, Cabinet members, or any other councillor who can demonstrate a planning related interest may also ask to make a deputation to the Committee. They do not have to provide a statement in advance, though they must inform the clerk by 9am the working day before the meeting that they wish to address the Committee on an application. This also applies to Committee members who are going to stand down from the Committee in order to speak on an application.
Any councillors who do not meet the deadline will not be permitted to speak except in exceptional circumstances.
Deputations and submissions about applications not on the Committee agenda
The Committee does not accept any deputations or written submissions where they relate to applications that are not on the agenda. Any comments on other applications form part of the planning process and should be provided to the relevant planning officer.