How Decisions are Made
Planning applications are dealt with in two ways:
- by the Head of Planning Services under delegated powers resulting in Delegated Decisions
- by the Planning Committee resulting in Committee Decisions.
Most applications (around 90%) are dealt with by delegated powers. The Council's scheme of delegation is set out in the Council's Constitution (pages 315 - 318).
In accordance with the scheme of delegation, a Councillor may sometimes ask for a planning application to be reported to the Planning Committee. But he or she must do this within 10 working days of the application appearing on the Weekly Lists of the applications received.
If your proposal needs to be considered by the Committee, we will send you a copy of the report and recommendation, five working days before the date of the meeting.
The agenda for the meeting as well as agendas and minutes from past Committee meetings may also be viewed on our website. For this, see our Committee Minutes Search. All meetings are held at the Civic Centre and are open to the public.
For further details about how the Planning Committee operates visit our Planning Committee page.
Code of Conduct for Councillors and Officers involved in the Planning Process
The Planning Services - Code of Conduct for Councillors and Officers involved in the Planning Process sets out the high standards expected of Councillors and Officers in operating the planning system.
