Planning Applications

Planning

Speaking on Planning Applications

Have your Say

How public speaking works
The Laws of slander
Who to contact

Every year, Dover District Council receives around 1600 planning applicationsEach application is important and the Council wants to encourage you to be involved in the Planning processTherefore you can have your say on applications considered at Planning CommitteeYou do not have to speak to have your views taken into account as letters carry equal weight and will always be considered carefullyHowever, you may feel that speaking at the meeting gives you the chance to reinforce the points you have already made in writing.

How public speaking works

Registering your interest

If you would like to speak on a particular application you will need to register your interest with the Council’s Committee Section, please use the form below

Download the Request to Speak Form - Word Format
Download the Request to Speak Form - PDF Format

You can find out if a particular application will be discussed about 10 days before the date of the meeting by looking on the website or by contacting either the Customer Services on 01304 821199 or 01304 872488. They should be able to advise you whether the application is on the agenda and you can then register your interest by returning the enclosed form to the Committee Section

The Planning Committee meets around every four weeks and dates for the meetings for 2008/2009 are set out below.

	2008	2009
January	17	15
February	14	12
March	13	12
April	10	2
May	8	7
June	5
July	3, 31
August	28
September	25
October	23
November	20
December	18

An agenda with reports for each meeting is usually available seven days before the meeting on the website

The right to speak

To make sure that the Committee can deal with all of its business, only one person will be allowed to speak for, and one against, any particular planning applicationIf you wish to speak, please register your interest with the Council’s Committee Section by not later than 5.00 p.mon the Tuesday before the Planning Committee meeting on the Thursday.

Interests will be registered on a first come, first served basis, but if there is more than one speaker in support of an application, preference will be given to the applicant or their agentAnyone wishing to speak after somebody else has registered an interest will be put in touch with the first person and all those who wish to speak will need to agree amongst themselves who will actually speak. The first person who is registered may defer to another speaker at the discretion of the ChairmanIt is requested that you notify this change to the Committee Section in writing by not later than 12.00 noon on the day of the CommitteeThis is an opportunity for you or your substitute to address the CommitteeIf any designated speaker prefers not to address the Committee directly, then no submissions will be read out on their behalf by a Council Officer.

N.B.
The applicant or their agent will be informed if someone registers to speak against their applicationThe names, addresses and telephone numbers of people who wish to speak may be given to other people who share their views and have expressed a wish to address the Committee.

Making the most of the opportunity

Owing to the volume of business at the Planning Committee Meeting you will be able to speak for up to three minutes.

We hope the following points will help you make the best of this opportunity.

Members of the Committee will each have a copy of a written report for each application which sums up the representations the Council has receivedYou can obtain a copy of this report from seven days before the meeting by contacting the Committee Section or read it on our website.
To make the best use of your time, please be brief and to the point.You may find it helpful to rehearse what you have to say to ensure that everything is included. You will not be allowed to over-run your time.
Written submissions, photographs or display material will not be accepted at the meeting.
Please confine your comments to planning issues which the Committee can take into account - an indication of the areas which can and cannot be taken into account is given later in this leaflet.
Please avoid derogatory or defamatory statementsYou are advised to read the section on the laws of slander elsewhere in this leaflet.
Owing to the short time you have in which to put your views across, it is better not to bring plans or elaborate visual aids to illustrate your points.
You may not speak in connection with Certificate of Lawful Development,Tree Preservation Orders or Enforcement or legal matters or ask questions about agenda items including planning applications but may write to the Chief Planning and development control Manager in the usual way.

Procedure at the meeting

Meetings of the Planning Committee take place in the Council Chamber of the Council Offices at the White Cliffs Business Park, DoverThey start promptly at 6.00 p.m. If you are going to speak, please arrive by 5.45 p.m and introduce yourself to the Officer at Reception.
The Officer will ask you to sit at the back of the Council Chamber.
Planning applications are dealt with in agenda order and it is impossible to predict how long it will take to debate each applicationIt may therefore be some time before the Committee reaches the item on which you have asked to speakThe Chairman will announce the application on which you wish to speak and invite you to go to the place set aside for public speakingAll desks in the Council Chamber have a microphone so you should have no difficulty in making yourself heard.
Once any additional information has been reported, the objector will be invited to speak first, followed by the supporterYou will be invited to speak for up to three minutesThis will only be varied in the interest of balance when District Councillors not on the Planning Committee wish to speak on an applicationThe time limit will be strictly enforced and the Chairman will warn you when you have only 30 seconds left.
After you have finished speaking, you will be asked to return to your seatYou are welcome to sit and listen to the debate, but will not be able to take part in the discussion.
After the public has spoken, the Planning Officer will offer any necessary factual clarification and then the Committee will debate the application and move to a vote.
This usually means that a decision has been reached upon the application, but in a small number of cases, consideration may be deferred for the Committee to visit the site or to receive further information.
Once a vote has been taken, you need not stay, but you are welcome to remain for some or the rest of the meeting if you so wish.
The Chairman has responsibility for the smooth running of the meetingHis/her decision on procedural matters is final.

The Laws of Slander

These laws are very strictIf in public you say something about a person which is not true, even if you believe it to be true, you may be sued and have to pay compensation.

Therefore, you need to be very careful about any criticism you wish to make of peopleCouncillors are able to speak more freely and bluntly in Committee or Council than members of the publicYou, as a member of the public, do not have the same protection.

MATTERS WHICH THE PLANNING COMMITTEE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN DEALING WITH PLANNING APPLICATIONS.

Planning powers are exercised in the public interest and objections to a planning application on grounds which reflect the writer’s personal and private interests would normally not be applicableExamples would be:-

Loss of a view
Infringement of rights of light
A breach of covenant attaching to land
A fear that property may be devalued
A fear that trade may be lost to a competitor
Rights of way

MATTERS WHICH MAY BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT

The Structure and Local Plan policies and proposals for the area
National Planning Guidance
The density of development proposed for a site
The effect of an application on highway safetyIs there a safe access? Would traffic from the development be significantly hazardous to drivers or pedestrians?
The impact of a proposal on local amenities and the character of the neighbourhood
The design of the development
Potential for a building or use to cause unacceptable disturbance or pollution to neighbours or the locality
Impact upon neighbours in terms of noise, overlooking, overshadowing or overbearing impact
Impact of the proposal on the character of an area including nature conservation, or a conservation area or a listed building
The planning history of the site

This is not an exhaustive list - for further guidance, please speak to the Customer Services on 01304 821199

Who to Contact

Finally, if you wish to question or comment on the conduct of individual Officers or Councillors, or upon procedural matters, this should not be done at Planning CommitteeThere is a separate process via the District Council’s Complaints Procedure.

Please contact the Development Control Manager for advice on how the scheme operates.

Tim Flisher
Development Control Manager
Dover District Council
White Cliffs Business Park
Dover
Kent CT16 3PJ

E-mail: developmentcontrol@dover.gov.uk