07 October 2008When the Council receives planning application they are checked to ensure all the correct forms, certificates and plans have been submitted.
An acknowledgement is then sent and the application is recorded in the planning register that the Council is required to maintain and make available for inspection.
A weekly list of applications received is sent to the local press, District and parish Councillors, amenity societies and is published on the Council's website.
Some applications are advertised in the local press and on site if they affect a listed building, a conservation area, depart from the Council's Local Plan, have a substantial impact on an area or if they affect a public right of way.
Notification letters are also sent to immediate neighbours and may be sent to others who are invited to comment on the proposal.
Making a decision
Decisions can either be delegated - the Council's planning officer will make the decision or they will be put to the Development Control Committee together with a report with an officer's recommendation. An application will normally only go to the Development Control Committee if:
The Committee then vote in order to reach a decision and will either grant planning permission, with or without conditions or refuse it.
Reasons have to be given for the conditions or for refusal. These are included on the decision notice, which is sent to the applicant after a decision has been made.
A record of all decisions is maintained on the planning register and decisions on individual applications can be viewed here.
How long does it take?
The Council has eight or thirteen weeks (depending on the type of application) to make a decision on a planning application. During this time the case officer will consult, in appropriate cases, with the local highway authority (Kent County Council in Sevenoaks District), town or parish councils, public services and other organisations.
The officer will investigate the site history and will consider whether or not the proposal is acceptable. Every application site is inspected.
Many applications are straightforward and uncontroversial. In such cases the Planning Officers generally determine these on the Council's behalf.
In other cases a recommendation on whether or not permission should be granted is made to the Development Control Committee.
Some complicated or large-scale applications take longer than eight or thirteen weeks to decide. If there is no decision, the applicant has the right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
Development Control Committee
What happens at the meeting?
Each planning application to be dealt with is listed on the agenda. There is a short report summarising the background of each application, its history and the comments of neighbours and anyone else interested in the proposal.
Although it may seem that some applications are dealt with quickly at the meeting, a lot of background work goes on beforehand.
An officer checks whether the application drawings are accurate, and they would have visited the site and asked neighbours, local residents and amenity societies for their views before writing the report. Sometimes other authorities, such as the Environment Agency, or a neighbouring council, would have been asked for their views.
At the meeting the committee members discuss each report in turn, asking the technical and legal officers for advice if necessary. They then vote.
An application for planning permission may be granted. This may be subject to certain conditions to make sure that, for example, and extension is built of the same type of bricks as the original house.
Or it may be refused. In this case, the reasons for refusal will be given. Alternatively it may be deferred. This sometimes happens if Councillors want more information about a proposal, or if they want to have a formal site visit themselves.
In this case the application will usually be decided at the next meeting of the Development Control Committee, four weeks later.
Occasionally, an application is withdrawn from the meeting. This is usually announced at the beginning of the evening. It may be dealt with at a later date following in some cases by a site meeting.
The other issues in the main section of the agenda are dealt with in turn; the approval of grants for the restoration of historic buildings, or a report on the Local Plan, perhaps a summary of a recent Government Circular or changes in the Building Regulations.
The councillors discuss each item, and vote whether or not to accept the report. Towards the end of the meeting the Development Control Committee may pass a resolution requiring members of the public and the press to leave so that the members may discuss any confidential reports.
Site visits by councillors
If Councillors want to look further at a particular proposal, particularly if it is controversial, a decision will sometimes be deferred for a site visit by the Development Control Committee.
This usually will be organised by the Committee section of the Council. If your proposal is affected, you can telephone the administrator, 01732 227000, to find out more details about the time and date.
The site visit will be attended by several Councillors and planning officers and if necessary, local ward members and officers from other relevant departments.
The meeting on site gives Councillors an opportunity to look at the whole site and the issues, and for the proposals to be explained to then by officers. Interested parties - including the applicant and objectors - can speak at the discretion of the Chairman.
Several sites are visited in one morning. The recommendation is then referred back to the next meeting of the Development Control Committee.
Following the link to view the members of Development Control Committee and the Wards they represent. There may be other Councillors at the meeting. They will be there because they are interested in one of the items on the agenda.
Other people at the meeting
The Council's technical and legal officers also attend to give the Councillors advice. A committee administrator records the minutes.
As a member of the public you are welcome to observe the meeting, but you may not contribute to the discussion unless you have registered with the Committee Clerk beforehand.
Development Control Committee agendas are always available at the Council Offices five working days before the meeting. Copies are also sent to all Parish Clerks. Spare copies are available at the Committee venue before the meeting.
For more information contact the Development Control Section.
