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The Planning Process Explained by Susan Tovey TVBC Head of Legal Servces Andover Airfield Application - 07/01951/OUTN The determination of this particular application has to be undertaken in accordance with the Council’s procedures and the Scheme of Delegation. Procedure for determining planning applications Delegation to the Head of Planning The determination of all planning applications is delegated to the Head of Planning except in certain circumstances (see the delegation to the Head of Planning on the Council’s web site in ‘About your Council / Constitution / Delegations to Officers’ http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/pdf/LEG_part3-delegationstoofficers.pdf ) Determination by Area Planning Committees Applications not determined by the Head of Planning are referred to the Area Planning Control Committees (see the delegations to the Development Control Committees on the Council’s web site in ‘About your Council / Constitution / Responsibility for Council Functions http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/pdf/LEG_part3-responsibilityforcouncilfunctions070708.pdf ) Determination by Planning Control Committee In accordance with the delegation to the Area Planning Committees (see second paragraph under ‘Powers and Duties’) some applications will be referred to Planning Control Committee for determination. Where this happens the decision taken by the Area Planning Committee is a recommendation to the Planning Control Committee. It is not an approval or refusal of the application. The role of Planning Control Committee in these circumstances is to determine the application (see paragraph (a) under its ‘Powers and Duties’). The committee has the same powers of determination as the Area Planning Committees. It receives the recommendation from the Area Planning Committees, together with a copy of the original officer report and any additional information that is relevant to the application. The members receive a presentation in the same way as members of the Area Planning Committees and the applicant, members of the public and the parish council(s) for the area in which the application site is situated have the same public participation rights as at Area Planning Committees. What happens between Area Planning Committee and Planning Control Committee meetings? Applicants can take note of those elements that did not meet with approval at the Area Committee meeting and can put forward amendments to their application to deal with them. Likewise planning officers can liaise with applicants and suggest amendments to deal with such issues. This is normal practice in the lead up to both Area Planning Committees (where there are elements of applications that officers consider unacceptable) and Planning Control. Any changes to the application that are more than minor have to be consulted upon in the usual way. Why has this application been referred to Planning Control Committee for determination? Circular (8/93) issued by the Department of Environment in March 1993 entitled “Award of Costs incurred in Planning and other (including Compulsory Purchase Orders) proceedings” sets out the circumstances in which costs may be awarded against one or other party at a planning inquiry. These are “when what is termed “unreasonable” behaviour is held to have occurred”. The Circular makes clear that “a Planning Authority will be at risk of an award of costs against them if they refuse an application which accords with material policies or proposals in the development plan, and they are unable to show that there are any other material considerations supporting such a refusal”. It is the professional view of the Head of Planning that the application accords with the present development plan as a whole (paragraph 5.6 of the Update Paper circulated at the meeting), that the reasons for refusal given by the Northern Area Planning Committee are not good planning reasons that are supported by other material considerations and that therefore the Council was at risk of costs in the event of an appeal against a refusal.
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