Planning Applicants Charter

Planning Applicants Charter

Advice before you submit a planning application

We welcome and encourage discussions before you make your planning application. This often helps the process along by dealing with any issues at the earliest stage and can result in a speedier decision. A planner is always on duty to see members of the public during the normal opening hours at the Civic Centre (8.45 - 5.15 Monday to Thursday and 8.45 - 4.45 Friday). In addition we offer a planning surgery, by appointment, at our Stokesley office on Tuesday afternoons between 2.00 - 4.30 and at the Easingwold office on Wednesday mornings, between 9.30 and 12.00.

The advice we will give you will be accurate and objective but will be without prejudice to the formal consideration of your application. We will advise you about relevant legislation, Government advice and planning policies. Where appropriate, we will offer you detailed advice on design, layout and other matters, contained in our Supplementary Planning Guidance Notes.

Do I need permission?

Simple enquiries can sometimes be dealt with on the telephone. However, what may appear a simple enquiry may take a certain amount of research to give you an accurate answer. To assist you we have produced a ' Planning Enquiry Form. By completing this form and returning it to us, we can tell you what type of permissions you will require. From 1st June 2010 a fee will be charged for dealing with Residential Development Enquiry forms relating to the question of "Do I need planning permission". Guidance about policy, design and other matters remains free.

One Stop Shop

If you are looking to make a planning application for a large scheme which is complex and covers a variety of issues then the Council can offer you a one stop shop for all your advice. We can pull together, where appropriate, professional advice which covers planning, building control, environmental health, housing and highway matters. Developers and technical advisers who wish to use this service should contact the department to arrange an appointment, which will be arranged as soon as practicable.

Submitting your application

An application has to be made on the right forms. Application forms are available from the Civic Centre and our offices in Stokesley and Easingwold. We encourage the use of the Planning Portal for the submission of applications on-line. You can also download forms from our website. If you are submitting paper documents rather than electronic submission we ask that you submit four sets of the forms together with four sets of accurately scaled plans, including location plans. We can supply Ordnance Survey plans for this purpose for which there is a charge. In most cases a fee is payable with your application. Separate forms are available which detail the relevant fees. If in doubt, please ask us before you submit your application. You will also have to certify whether you are the sole owner of the property. If not, you will have to serve notice on all the owners of the land to which your application relates.

It is often helpful to appoint an agent to act on your behalf. If you have an agent they will be sent all relevant correspondence and will be contacted if any alterations are required to your application. They will be also sent notice of the decision. It will be your agents' responsibility to keep you informed of what is happening to your application. Normally, we will not contact you direct if you employ an agent.

We will let you, or your agent know, normally within five working days, if any further information is needed to make your application valid. If this additional information is not received within six months of the request then we will treat your application as if it had been withdrawn and return it to you.

When your application is complete, we will register and acknowledge it, normally within five working days. The acknowledgement will give you the name, telephone number and e-mail address of the planning officer dealing with the application. A target date by which we hope to make a decision will be set out. This will be eight weeks after the receipt of your valid application. This date may change if, for example, amendments are needed.


Dealing with your application

We will try to deal with your application within eight weeks although this is not always possible. If we are likely to take longer to make a decision we will let you know the reasons why and give you a likely date for the decision.

All applications receive publicity. We will write to your neighbours and ask them if they have any views on your proposal. It can often be helpful if you have discussed your proposal first with your neighbours. A site notice will be posted outside your property when the planner dealing with your application visits the site. A copy of your application will be sent to your local town/parish council for comment. Depending on the type of application, consultations are also carried out with certain technical authorities such as Yorkshire/Northumbrian Water, the Environment Agency and the Highway Authority. All consultees are given twenty-one days to make a comment. If your application is significantly amended re-consultations may take place giving parties ten days to make a further comment.

If the planner dealing with your application needs to discuss your proposal your agent will be contacted as soon as possible, though this may well be when the consultation period has ended. If an agent is listed on the application form we will expect the agent to deal with all correspondence and will not approach the applicant. If amendments or extra detail is required a date by which the further information is required will be given to you. If you cannot meet this date you should contact the planning officer as soon as possible.

If the application is unacceptable as submitted, but amendments could overcome the concerns, the planner will explain this to you. A reasonable timescale will be given for you to send us revised proposals. If, at the end of that period, we have not received the amendments and there has been no extension of time agreed, the council may decide your proposals as originally submitted.

Applications will only be recommended for refusal if there are sound planning reasons for doing so and the necessary amendments would be too substantial or cannot be agreed. If it is considered that your proposal requires repeated or significant amendments we may request you to withdraw your application and submit a revised scheme.

The planner dealing with your application can keep you informed of progress and how and when it will be decided. The planner may express a view on your proposal but a formal decision can only be made by the Planning Committee or the Head of Regulatory Services under delegated powers.

If your application is to be considered by the Committee, we will advise you of the date of the meeting and send to you a copy of the report and recommendation when the agenda is published. We will also send you details of how to address the Committee in person if you wish to do so. You can also view these details on this website under the Planning Committee tab. You can also make written representations to the Committee members and your local councillor may be willing to attend the meeting and put your point of view. We can forward contact details of councillors to you directly.

Notifying you of the decision

We will issue all decision notices as soon as possible after the decision has been made. Attached to the decision notice will be a copy of the planners' report that will explain all the issues involved in arriving at the decision. We will also send to you details of how to appeal if your application has been refused or that there are conditions attached to your permission that you consider are unacceptable.

Appeals

You have a legal right to appeal against the decision of the Council if your application has been refused or there are conditions attached which you consider unacceptable. All appeals need to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate within six months of the decision date (two months in the case of advertisement applications). See also details regarding the Householder Appeal Service on the Planning Portal Website Opens in a new window. The timescales set down for dealing with appeals are made by the Planning Inspectorate. Before submitting an appeal it is advisable to speak to the planner to see if your scheme could be amended in a way that would make it acceptable. If this is the case we will advise you to consider resubmitting your application. Often, there is no further planning fee required for applications submitted within twelve months of the date of refusal of permission.

Carrying out your proposal

Planning permissions almost always include conditions requiring you to submit further details to the Council for approval before you start work, for example, to agree the materials out of which your proposal is to be built or to submit a landscaping scheme. Your agent will have a copy of the decision notice that sets out any conditions. These details should be sent in with a covering note clearly referenced to your application. A fee is charged for applications for the discharge of planning conditions. The Council will seek to agree the details of conditions as soon as possible though consultation may be required with a third party, such as the Highway Authority. There is normally no public consultation in dealing with conditions.

If building works are to be carried out you should check before you start work whether you require a separate approval. The Building Control service for Hambleton is provided by the North Yorkshire Building Control Partnership who can be contacted on 01347 822703 they will be happy to advise you.

Depending on the nature of your development there may be further consents required from other Council departments or outside agencies, such as the Highway Authority. We will advise you where possible of this but the responsibility rests with you to check this out before you start work.

Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received you may wish to pursue a complaint via the Council's formal complaints procedure. A copy of this can obtained from the Council offices. Initially, you are encouraged to contact the Head of Development Services to discuss the matter informally. The formal procedure allows your complaint to be considered by the Council staff. If you are still unhappy you may ask for the matter to be reviewed by the Standards Committee which comprises Elected Members or you can go directly to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Comments

If you would like to comment on the service you have received as a planning applicant we would like to hear from you. If the service you have received has been good or bad please let us know. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our service and your comments will help us do that.

Click here if you have any comments or queries for the Development Management (planning) Department.

Who's who

Head of Regulatory Services - Maurice Cann

Development Manager - Tim Wood

Principal Planner and Enforcement Officer - Jonathan Saddington

Enforcement Officer - Hazell Robson

Planning Officers -

Alex Peel
Andrew Cunningham
Bridget Robinson
Helen Laws
John Howe
Sally Leeming
Tracy Price
Technical Support Team

Marian Ward
Angela Slater
Justine Forrest
Anthony Dozey

updated 20-01-2011

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