Agenda item

(a)       That the Committee approve the alterations to the Planning Code of Practice as identified in tracked changes in Appendix 1 of the report;

(b)       That the Planning Code of Practice include the Public Complaints Procedure in Section 15;

(c)        That the Planning Code of Practice include a section to explain that written submissions from the applicant, the person for the application and the person against the application are able to be provided in advance of the meeting to ensure that, if any of them were unable to attend, their statement could be read out by an officer on their behalf;

(d)       That the wording “where requested such assistance is provided in a timely manner”, be included in section 2.4.2;

(e)       That the wording in 4.3.1 the wording be changed to read “either under the item for declaring interests or at the moment a Member realises they have an interest”; and

(f)        That the Planning Strategy Group consider Councillor Peers’ suggestions on informing all Members of the Planning Committee prior to the meeting of any discussions on Section 106 agreements, and whether all Members of the Committee should be asked if they agreed with the reasons for refusal once the proposer had summed up.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer introduced the report and explained that in March 2021 the Committee considered a review of the Protocol for Meeting Contractors a part of the Committee’s rolling review of the Council’s Constitution.  The parts of the Protocol relating to Members in their Dealings with Contractors/Developers and Other Third Parties who might be bidding for, or seeking, a contract with the Council were updated.

The Committee resolved that the parts of the Protocol for Meetings with Contractor that provided advice in respect of Developers should be contained in the Planning Code of Practice (PCoP) and that the PCoP be updated accordingly.

At the Council meeting in April 2021, where the updated Protocol was approved, Members also requested that advice be added to the PCoP on the pre-application consultation process.

The Planning Strategy Group (PSG) considered the above proposed changes to the PCoP on 13^th May 2021 and 10^th June 2021 and a number of additional alterations were made where it was felt they would be of assistance to Members involved in the planning process.  In addition, Standards Committee on 5^th July 2021 proposed some further additional amendments.   All of those amendments were appended to the report.

In response to a question from Councillor Bithell, the Deputy Monitoring Officer explained that the statutory pre consultation period does not require all Planning Committee Members to be provided with details of the proposals.  It was the local Members who should be contacted so they could advise of any local issues to assist the developer in the preparation of their application.  Members of Planning Committee needed to be seen to be impartial with developers.

In responding to a further question, the Chief Officer (Governance) explained that when on a site visit, if a Member was asked to view the site from a neighbouring property from the neighbour, this was only acceptable if all Members on the site visit also went to view the site.  In addition, site visits should not consist of conversations with members of the public.

Councillor Bithell asked for information on the process of appeals.  The Deputy Monitoring Officer explained that the proposer and the seconder of the motion against officer recommendation were invited to meet the relevant Planning Officer to prepare a statement in response to an appeal.

Councillor Bithell asked if any details could be put in section 15, Complaints.  The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that the Public Complaints Procedure could be included.  There was an escalation process for Councillors who had raised an issue and not received a response, but that detail would not be put in a public document.  He also asked if the Planning Code of Practice could include a section to explain that written submissions from the applicant, the person for the application and the person against the application are able to be provided in advance of the meeting to ensure that, if any of them were unable to attend, their statement could be read out by an officer on their behalf.

Councillor Peers suggested that the wording “where requested such assistance is provided in a timely manner”, be included in section 2.4.2.

On section 4.3.1, Councillor Peers queried whether the wording needed to change, to read “either under the item for declaring interests or at the moment a Member realises they have an interest”.

Councillor Peers welcomed the updates to sections 8.1 and 8.2.  On Section 106 agreements, he felt that all Committee Members should be made aware of the discussions undertaken prior to the Committee meeting.  He also felt that when a proposer has summed up, outlining their reasons for refusal, the rest of the Committee should be asked if they agree with the reasons for refusal.  The Chief Officer (Governance) said those two proposals could be discussed at Planning Strategy Group.

In response to a question from Councillor Smith, the Monitoring Officer said the Head of Democratic Services and Team Leader – Democratic Services would look into the possibility of Planning Strategy Group agendas and minutes being made available to all Members of the Council.

The recommendation in the report was moved by Councillor Chris Bithell and seconded by Councillor Mike Peers, including the following as proposed during the debate:

·         That the Planning Code of Practice include the Public Complaints Procedure in Section 15

·         That the Planning Code of Practice include a section to explain that written submissions from the applicant, the person for the application and the person against the application are able to be provided in advance of the meeting to ensure that, if any of them were unable to attend, their statement could be read out by an officer on their behalf

·         That the wording “where requested such assistance is provided in a timely manner”, be included in section 2.4.2.

·         That the wording in 4.3.1 the wording be changed to read “either under the item for declaring interests or at the moment a Member realises they have an interest”.

·         That the Planning Strategy Group consider Councillor Peers’ suggestions on informing all Members of the Planning Committee prior to the meeting of any discussions on Section 106 agreements, and whether all Members of the Committee should be asked if they agreed with the reasons for refusal once the proposer had summed up.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee approve the alterations to the Planning Code of Practice as identified in tracked changes in Appendix 1 of the report;

(b)       That the Planning Code of Practice include the Public Complaints Procedure in Section 15;

(c)        That the Planning Code of Practice include a section to explain that written submissions from the applicant, the person for the application and the person against the application are able to be provided in advance of the meeting to ensure that, if any of them were unable to attend, their statement could be read out by an officer on their behalf;

(d)       That the wording “where requested such assistance is provided in a timely manner”, be included in section 2.4.2;

(e)       That the wording in 4.3.1 the wording be changed to read “either under the item for declaring interests or at the moment a Member realises they have an interest”; and

(f)        That the Planning Strategy Group consider Councillor Peers’ suggestions on informing all Members of the Planning Committee prior to the meeting of any discussions on Section 106 agreements, and whether all Members of the Committee should be asked if they agreed with the reasons for refusal once the proposer had summed up.