-Planning consultations

If you are a neighbour of a planning application site or a local resident you are likely to have been informed about it by letter from the Local Planning Authority or have seen the proposal advertised on the site or in a local newspaper.

If you wish to comment on an application please do this in writing to the planning officer who is dealing with the application. Should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us. We will endeavour to acknowledge receipt of your letter and inform you of the decision made on the application.

Further details are included in the Neighbours Charter.

Neighbours Charter

How we consult on planning applications

It is a legal requirement to consult the public on all planning applications. It is the practice at Hambleton to consult more widely than is required. Not only do we seek to consult all adjoining neighbours to a proposal directly by letter but we also display a prominent site notice outside the site. We send out around 5000 individual consultation letters a year to neighbours we consider to be affected by a proposal.

We encourage and advise applicants to talk to their neighbours informally before submitting their application. This will not affect the consultations that we will carry out.

In the case of listed buildings, development affecting a conservation area or a major proposal then we will also publish details of the application in a local newspaper.

As a neighbour, you will be given 21 days to comment. It is helpful to us to know your views whether you support the proposal, object to it or merely have a view to express about it.

The Councils practice is to negotiate improvements to applications and if possible overcome objections made by neighbours. If a significant amendment is made to an application then we will write to you again giving you 10 days to make any further comment.

How to comment

Before you express an opinion on a proposal it is usually helpful for you to be able to see the detailed plans of the scheme. The plans can be viewed online via PublicAccess, and at the Civic Centre between 8.45 and 5.15 Monday to Thursday and 8.45 to 4.45 on Fridays. If you would like to view the plans at our offices in Stokesley or Easingwold then this can be arranged. A planner holds a surgery at Stokesley on Tuesday afternoons between 2.00 and 4.30 and at Easingwold on Wednesday mornings between 9.30 and 12.30 when the plans can be viewed. If you would like to do this, please telephone the Civic Centre on 0845 1211 555 and ask to speak to the duty officer in Development Management, to make an appointment.

A copy of the application is also sent to your local parish/town council. It may be more convenient to see the plans by contacting your parish clerk.

We are aware that infirm or disabled people may have difficulty in getting to see the plans. In such circumstances it may be possible to send you a copy or for the planner to visit you in your home. If this is the case for you then please contact the section as soon as possible. There are copyright laws which limit who we can send plans to.

Comments should normally be made in writing, quoting the reference number of the application. If you have difficulty with this please contact the planner dealing with the application who will be able to help. Comments can also be made online using the PublicAccess system.

The Council can only take into account 'material planning considerations' when looking at your comments. These include matters like the effect on traffic or parking, the appearance of the proposal, overlooking of your property, disturbance, loss of light or privacy, impact on the local environment and whether the proposed use is suitable. We cannot take into account matters like loss of property value, private disputes between neighbours, the loss of a view, the impact of construction work or competition between firms.

Taking your views into account

When we receive your comments we will send an acknowledgement to you to say that we have got your letter. Your letter will be placed on the planning file and be available for public inspection via PublicAccess. Many decisions are taken by officers, but if the application is to be decided by the Development Management Committee your views will be included in the report for them to consider. The Committee agenda is published five days before the meeting. and is available to view in the Council offices and on this Website via PublicAccess. The meetings are held in public at the Civic Centre every four weeks. If the application on which you have commented is to be heard by the Committee we will write to you and invite you to come and speak at the meeting. Details of speaking at the Development Managment Committee are detailed below. If you prefer, you can contact your local councillor and ask if they would put forward your views at the meeting.

Speaking at Committee Opens in a new window

Letting you know the outcome

It is not usually possible to respond to questions raised in individual letters. However, we appreciate how important planning decisions are to people. As a result, once a decision has been made on an application on which you have made a comment, we will send to you a copy of the planners report on the proposal. Amongst other things, the report will set out the planning policies that are relevant, detail your comments and address those comments so that you can see how the decision was arrived at. The report will also contain the conditions that have been put on any approved application or the reasons for refusing those applications that are rejected.

Only the applicant can appeal against the decision. If an appeal is made, and you have commented on the earlier application, you will be notified and invited to write to the Planning Inspectorate with your comments. Any comments you have made previously will be passed on to the Inspector.


Click here if you have any comments or queries for the Development Management Section.

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