Planning Matters

Planning Applications – Parish Council Responsibilities

The Planning Authority covering Chineham is Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, the decisions being made by the Development Control Committee. Householder developments and other small developments are usually decided by Planning Officers under delegated powers, unless they are contentious. If ten or more objections are received the application will automatically go to the full Development Control Committee. Ward Councillors can also request referral to the Committee under certain circumstances.

Chineham Parish Council is a consultee. The planning process and all applications in the Parish are considered and commented upon by Chineham Parish Council’s Planning Committee, which also considers applications in neighbouring areas which may impact on Chineham. Chineham Parish Council’s Planning Committee has delegated powers in respect of planning consultations; however, where a proposal is likely to have a major impact or have significant policy implications, it will be referred to the full Parish Council. It should be noted that whilst the Borough does not have to agree with Parish Council recommendations, it does have to consider the Parish Council’s views, which are quoted in the Officers’ reports to the Borough’s Development Control Committee. Consultations can take a variety of forms and depend on the nature of the works proposed. However, in general the process at Chineham is as follows:

Application details - plans, sketches and photos of the site - are received by the Parish Council from the Borough.

Members of the Parish Council Planning Committee are informed of the application(s).
Immediate neighbours are informed of the application(s) by the Parish Council in the form of a hand-delivered letter.
These neighbours are also invited to attend the Parish Planning Committee meeting to make their views known.
The applicant is advised by the Parish Council in the form of a hand-delivered letter that neighbours have been advised of the application along with the details of the next Planning Committee meeting,
The Parish Council adds the application(s) to the next Parish Council Planning Committee Agenda and the Agenda is advertised in accordance with Local Government Rules.
The application(s) are considered at the Parish Planning Committee meeting where comments and recommendations are agreed for the meeting Minutes and also for submission to the Borough.

There is sometimes confusion as to what are valid Planning considerations and what are not. For example, if residents complain that a proposed development would cause the value of their house to fall this would not be a planning consideration and could not be discussed by the Planning Committee. If consent is granted for a development this does not grant any rights to obstruct others during construction, nor any right to store building plant or materials on land outside the property, including public land such as road verges.

Planning considerations would include the following:

Traffic generation, highway safety and parking
Overshadowing, overlooking and loss of privacy
Noise, disturbance or other loss of amenities
Relevant planning policies
Effect on trees
Design ego height/bulk/position of buildings, appearance, effect on surrounding area
Inadequate landscaping/means of enclosure

The following would not normally be Planning considerations:

Loss of property value
Issues of market competition
Loss of a view
The applicant’s motives, character or personal circumstances
Matters covered by other legislation, including restrictive covenants on land
Issues relating to land ownership/property boundaries, including the need to access land to undertake development
Moral or religious issues
Issues relating to the construction of a development
The reasons why a developer is making the application or their activities elsewhere

More information on “Commenting on a Planning Application” may be found on the Borough website:

http://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/planning/dc/apps/commenting

March 2010

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