East Riding of Yorkshire Council - Statement of Community Involvement

The Council currently deals with over 5,000 planning applications a year. These applications can come from anywhere in the 930 square miles of land that the Council is responsible for. Having a large number of applications and covering a wide geographical area, the planning service must consider how to effectively involve residents and other consultees in the decision making process.

To do this an extensive range of consultation methods needs to be considered. Much consultation is already done by the Council. Approximately 50,000 consultation letters are sent to local residents and neighbours of development sites. And about 25,000 letters are sent to various statutory and non-statutory consultees.

Parish and Town Councils have been important links in the decision making process, working closely as they do with their respective communities.  They will continue to be an important point of contact in the planning application process.

The use of information technology helps to remove some of the accessibility barriers that can occur in the more isolated and rural settlements of the East Riding. However the Council recognises that a proportion of  East Riding residents do not have access to the internet  or even a computer.

Information technology is not intended to completely replace traditional paper based consultation methods in the planning application process It will instead supplement and enhance the quality of the service that the Council provides. Communicating with residents, businesses and other consultees through electronic means, is already proving to be a fast and efficient method of engagement.

E-planning refers to information technology in a planning environment. It is an increasingly important method of engaging the community in the planning process. The Council is currently developing its website in line with PARSOL standards. To understand what PARSOL is, please refer to section 1. PARSOL is significantly improving access to planning information, documents and applications submitted.  The following services and functions are now available on the Council's website:

• Publicising planning applications.
• Viewing application forms and plans.
• Viewing other supporting documents.
• Viewing notice of decisions once an application has been determined.
• Receiving letters of representation.
• Ability to comment, support or object to an application.
• Monitoring the progress of planning applications.

These, and other services can be found on the Council's website at:  www.eastriding.gov.uk/publicaccess. There are many benefits to e-planning such as:

• Anybody in the world can access the information from a computer.
• Reduced telephone calls for Council staff allowing them to focus their attention on those who are unable to or choose not to utilise e-planning services.
• Greater transparency in the planning application process.

The requirements for involving the community in the planning application process is set by the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995. The Order sets out how planning applications should be advertised using methods such as:

• Letters to neighbours.
• Site notices.
• Statutory notices in the local press. 

It also sets out when statutory consultees such as the Environment Agency, Parish Council and English Heritage must be consulted.  The Council already meets these statutory requirements and has undertaken to consult more widely using both postal and electronic services.

The scale of community involvement beyond what the Council is required to do, depends on the type of application received. By involving a broad range of stakeholders in the process, the quality of developments should be improved. The Community Involvement Procedure section details in general how the Council will involve the community in planning applications.

For major applications, the Council will consider the following methods of community involvement:

• Exhibitions
• Public meetings
• Surgeries
• Workshops

The amount of community involvement undertaken will be dependent on the following:

• The likely impact of the development proposal on the wider area
• The location of the site
• The site's potential development
• The stage of progression of a proposal. 

Some major development proposals can potentially have an impact on a distinct local community either during or after construction. Where this is the case, the council will set up local Community Liaison Groups. These will keep people informed of progress with, and any proposed changes to the development. Community Liaison Groups also ensure that the developers are aware of concerns that may arise and how they can minimise unnecessary disruption to others.

At regular intervals the Council will hold workshops with many of its customers including agents, house builders, parish councils and access groups. The liaison meetings aim to improve the effectiveness of the development process and improve the quality of the built environment .

When applications are received parish councils will be encouraged to make plans available to local people. This can allow greater access to plans and encourage participation of local people in the planning process.

As well as the Council engaging the community, all applicants will be encouraged to do some form of consultation with the public before they formally submit their applications. The amount and type of consultation will be depend on the nature of the application. The following is suggested:

• House Extensions - Applicants are encouraged to speak with their neighbours and show them the proposed plans. Where applicable they should report in their application their neighbours comments and any changes made as a result.

• Minor Development Proposals - Developers should involve the community, consultees and other agencies (including the Council) at an early stage.  There are benefits to both local people and developers with early involvement. For developers, it will ensure that issues are addressed prior to an application being submitted. For local people it will enable them to have input before proposals reach an advanced stage.

• Major Development Proposals - Developers of major schemes will be expected to have canvassed views more widely than for minor applications before their application. This will involve at least those residents affected by the proposal, the parish or town council and statutory consultees.  Planning Officers will be able to advise how and when this should be done.  We will encourage statements of consultation to be submitted with planning applications which specify the consultation carried out and comments received. 

Consultation carried out by applicants and/or their agent will not replace those undertaken by the Council as part of the formal planning application process.

The detailed procedures for community involvement are laid down in the various Codes of Practice. These include codes on Public Consultation, Public Speaking at Planning Committee and Major Applications. Copies of the Codes of Practice are available by telephoning: 01482 393666. This section provides a general summary of the community involvement procedures in development control.

Planning Application Procedure

Once a complete or 'valid' planning application has been received, the relevant consultees will be identified. This will depend on the significance of the application. For all applications, notification letters will be sent to all addresses which share a boundary with the application site. Where appropriate this may include properties separated from the application site by a public highway or other public land, when the proposed development could affect those properties. A guideline of 20 metres across such land from the site is currently used for this purpose.

For major applications and other applications which the Council considers likely to have a significant impact, residents in a more extensive area will be contacted. A guideline of 100 metres from the site is currently used for this purpose.

In all cases, members of the public will be given 21 days from the date on the letter to make their comments known to the Council.  These letters will be sent in addition to any statutory publicity such as site notices or advertisements in the local newspapers. 

Non-statutory site notices will be displayed, instead of letters to neighbours, in cases where there are no occupied buildings within the relevant area. Site notices will also be displayed where the application is likely to have an impact over a wider area than the other measures would cover.

Site notices will also invite the public to comment within 21 days of the notice being displayed.  Occasionally the dates on the site notice, letter of notification or press notice will be different.  Where this is the case the latest date will be taken before a decision is made on the application by the Council. 

In all cases, applications will be available for inspection at one of the Council's Customer Service Centres closest to the application site. All major applications will also be available at  Beverley Customer Service Centre. The contact and address details of the various Customer Service Centres are given in Appendix B of this document.

If amended plans are received which are minor or overcome earlier concerns and are not likely to raise additional problems, no further consultation shall be carried out. For some amendments that may cause some relatively minor issues, the Council will re-consult those originally consulted. This will be done when it can be achieved within the period for determining applications. If a significant or late amendment is made when re-consultation cannot be done before the application deadline expires, a revised application would normally be required. This will give the public and consultees opportunity to consider the new plans. The new plans can then be viewed within a reasonable time, maintaining trust and transparency in the process.

The majority of minor planning applications are decided by planning officers. Major or contentious applications are referred to a planning committee for a decision. Planning committees consist of a number of elected members who consider all the relevant issues of each application. At planning committee the applicant and people who have objected to (or written in support of) the application, are invited to address the committee at the start of the debate.

The committee agenda is available for inspection on the Council's web site (www.eastriding.gov.uk/council/democratic) five working days before the meeting. Planning officers produce a committee report for each application which considers the main issues of the proposal. The report then ends with a recommendation to Councillors how the application should be decided. Committee reports are a tool to help people understand the considerations elected members take into account when making their decisions.

For major applications applicants and objectors may be invited to present their proposals and concerns to Councillors during the week before the planning committee. This is designed to ensure that the committee is more fully aware of the often complex issues that such applications raise before they debate and determine the application. This is done in accordance with the Council's Code of Practice for Major Applications.

When the final decision to grant or refuse planning permission has been taken or if the application has been withdrawn, the parish council and members of the public who made representations shall be sent a letter informing them of the decision and any conditions or reasons relating to it. The decision notice will also be available for inspection on the Council's web site: www.eastriding.gov.uk/publicaccess

Post-Decision Actions

If applicants are unhappy with the Council's handling of the application, they are entitled to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate in a number of ways. These include:

• When an application has been refused.
• If an application has not been decided by the target deadline (8 weeks for minor applications or 13 weeks for major applications).
• Against the conditions that have been placed on a planning approval.

There is currently no third party right of appeal for those who objected or supported the application. Third parties are those who were involved in the application process other than the Council or the applicant.

When an appeal is lodged, a planning inspector, on behalf of the Secretary of State, will make the decision as to whether to 'allow' or 'dismiss' the appeal based on the evidence set before them. Third parties will automatically be informed by the Council how they can be involved in the appeal process. The details of the Planning Inspectorate are listed in Appendix B.

Certain types of applications will need to be referred to the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber for their consideration, before a decision can be issued by the Council. Where this is the case, it will be specified in the committee report prepared by the planning officer responsible.

Additional Services

Weekly planning surgeries are currently held at a number of  the Council's Customer Service Centres to assist customers with their planning enquiries. For details of venues and times, please call 01482 393666