Councillors are constantly approached by objectors, supporters and indeed applicants of planning applications. Of course it is part of our role to listen to local residents, but as councillors we must stay impartial until we consider the information provided to us at committee. My colleague Alastair Ross has kindly agreed for me to share his article on how it works. You can see Cllr Ross’ website at http://alastairross.mycouncillor.org.uk/

Planning Officers

Planning officers are full time professionals who run the planning service.  Their task is to understand and evaluate each planning application and recommend a decision based on facts and on planning policy as set out in the Adopted (2012) Local Development Plan.

Planning officers have delegated powers to approve applications that conform to policy.  They also have delegated power to refuse certain applications and in such cases they make their recommendation to local councillors seeking authority to use that delegated power.  Occasionally, a majority of local councillors will ask for it to be referred to committee instead.

Councillors

The councillors role in planning is to help decide an application if it is referred to us or to committee.

We are required by law to remain impartial and consider all the facts that are presented to us before making up our minds.  So we really must be fair to everyone and not take sides on a planning application.

This time round you might want us to support your objection.  Would you be happy next time if we supported your neighbour’s objection to your own application?

Deciding an application

When an application comes to committee we are required to rely on the facts presented in the planning officer report.  This makes good sense.  Imagine the difficulty if each councillor came to committee armed with their own (conflicting) set of facts.  It would be chaos.  So the system depends on dispassionate reporting by the planning officer and it also depends on you, the public, identifying local factors that others may not be aware of.

Valid representations made by third parties – objectors and supporters – are always copied to councillors when the matter goes to committee.  They will also be shown on the public website.

Rule: if there are facts and local circumstances that you want the committee to be aware of and to take into account then you must submit them to the planning service in good time.  That’s the only way they will get into the planners report so you must work through them.

When deciding an application we can also take into account other material considerations that we consider relevant.  You might want to call our attention to things that you consider relevant and you are entitled to do that.

Rule: if you want the whole committee to take notice of additional considerations you think are important you should write to the planning service about those too.

Making an effective representation

Your best bet is to base your representation on the published policies in the Adopted (2012) Local Development Plan.  Read the plan and its policies and consider how the proposal fits or does not fit with those policies.  You can then write to planners (and councillors if you wish) calling attention to local facts and placing them in the context of planning policy.

You can also refer to Scottish Planning Policy and to the Aberdeen City and Shire (2009) Structure Plan.  These also have some bearing on the determination of planning applications.

Other helpful documents include Planning Advice Notes but please be clear that these are not statements of policy but rather guidance which may or may not be followed in all instances.  Planning advice provides best practice guidance on how to meet the requirements of the Local Development Plan and its associated supplementary guidance.

A picture is often worth a thousand words and can often illustrate the local situation most powerfully.  If you want to submit photographs be aware that copies distributed to councillors are photocopied in black and white.  Quite often what we get looks like a picture of a black cat on a dark night.  So it’s worth doing one of two things: either work on your photos to ensure they will photocopy successfully or alternatively e-mail your photos directly to the councillors.  Line drawings can also be a good alternative if they can be successfully photocopied onto A4 paper.

Things that tend not to help much

Planners and councillors are not generally much swayed by petitions nor by multiple copies of the same letter sent from different addresses.  Planning decisions are not a matter of public popularity so the weight of letters takes a back seat to verifiable fact, planning policy, relevant material considerations, and reasoned argument.

Sometimes people raise questions of ownership, legal rights of access and so on.  You might be surprised to learn that these civil legal issues are of no relevance to a planning decision.  Anyone can apply for planning consent on anyones land and there are circumstances where it makes sense – for example where a developer seeks consent on a field he has agreed to purchase subject to consent.  If a consent is granted and there are civil legal issues to resolve it is up to the parties to pursue that through the appropriate processes for civil legal action.

Complaints about business ethics, and the motives and behaviour of others is never helpful.  Whilst we are all aware of instances of bad neighbour behaviour we are forbidden by law from taking into account the character or history of an applicant.  If you feel that needs changing it is a matter for your MSP but be aware that it is a thorny subject.

Rights of appeal

Once planning consent has been granted there is no right of appeal for objectors except to the Court of Session where your appeal needs to be on a point of law.  If you are contemplating such an appeal you need to consult your solicitor who will advise you about the process, likely costs, and whether you have a case.

If planning consent has been refused the applicant has a right of appeal either to Scottish Ministers if the decision was made by the planning committee, or to the Local Review Body if the decision was made by officers under the council’s scheme of delegation.

Permitted development

In recent years the planning regulations have been relaxed.  Many developments that you might wish to pursue are covered by the General Permitted Development Order.  You can read more about what is, and is not permitted, on the Scottish Government website where they publish a very readable Guidance on House Holder Permitted Development Rights that I heartily recommend.