|
People in Wrexham County Borough who want to comment on planning applications
or apply for planning permission are being invited to have their say
at the Council's Planning Committee before decisions on major or controversial
proposals are made.
Have your say about a planning application before the council makes a decision
-
Write to the Chief Planning Officer
Wrexham County Borough Council, Lambpit Street, Wrexham,
LL11 1AR.
(Representations of a racist nature will not be considered and may be referred to the Commission for Racial Equality / Police for investigation).
Your views will be taken into account when the application is decided
under delegated powers or when a report is prepared for the Planning
Committee. Please quote the application number if you know it.
-
Approach your local Wrexham Councillor.
Link to view Councillor
contact details or contact
the Planning Department.
-
You can speak at the Planning Committee, subject to the points set out below.
What Issues/Concerns can you raise?
-
You must decide what to bring to the attention of the Council, but
under Planning Law the Council’s decision must accord with the
Wrexham Development Plan unless other planning
considerations are of sufficient weight to justify a decision that
can be defended at appeal to the Welsh Assembly Government’s
Planning Inspectorate. The Council cannot refuse planning permission
simply because people object, or approve it because many people are
in support or no-one objects.
-
The issues you raise must involve planning matters such as:
- The planning policies and proposals in the Wrexham
Development Plan (‘UDP’) (e.g. green barrier)
-
Government planning advice (e.g. Technical Advice Notes) and appeal
decisions
-
Impact on the character and appearance of an area (e.g. siting,
scale, massing, height and design)
-
Impact on residential amenity (e.g. hours of use, overlooking,
overdominance, noise, traffic)
-
Impact on highway safety (e.g. poor visibility, pedestrian safety,
parking)
Little or no weight can be given to non-planning matters
or purely private interests such as:
- Structural stability, drainage, fire precautions, hygiene and
internal space (these are, however, dealt with under other legislation
such as the Building
Regulations)
-
The personal characteristics of the applicant
-
Disputes over the ownership of the land affected
-
Private rights of way, private drains and other private easements
and legal covenants
-
The effect of the proposal on property values
-
Competition between rival companies, shops, restaurants etc.
Representation of a racist nature will not be considered and may be referred to the Commission for Racial Equality / Police for investigation.
back to the top
What will happen when you write to the Council?
Consideration by the Planning case-officer:
-
Your
letter will be acknowledged and passed to the Planning case-officer
dealing with the application.
-
The officer will visit the application
site to assess the impact of the proposal on the area.
-
The officer
may negotiate amendments to the proposal. If these are significant
in scale the Council will notify neighbours again and invite
them to view the plans and make further representations. The original letter(s)
will still be considered, but in the light of the amendments.
- The
officer will prepare a report taking into account the views expressed
by consultees (e.g. the Highway Authority) and comments
made by the applicant and neighbours, and may consult senior planning officers.
This
report
will usually be prepared 4 to 8 weeks from the date
that the application
was submitted to the Council and neighbours were first
notified.
Consideration by the Chief Planning Officer:
- The Chief Planning Officer
and/or the Planning Control Manager, will consider the application
and plans, any representations made and
the officer’s recommendation. A decision will be made where the officers
have delegated powers or a report approved for consideration
by the Planning Committee.
Consideration by the Elected Councillors:
The Council’s Decision:
-
The Council will issue a Decision Notice
to the applicant (or his/her agent).
-
The Council will notify neighbours
who have written in. The press will normally report decisions on major
proposals.
-
Where the decision is to refuse permission, the applicant
can, usually within 6 months, appeal to the Welsh Assembly Government
whose
Planning Inspectorate will review the case and can grant approval. Those people
who wrote to the Council about the application will be notified
of
such an appeal.
- Where the application is approved, the Decision Notice will
usually contain planning conditions requiring, for example, matching
materials,
landscaping, parking, specific hours of use of commercial premises.
Your Rights if Planning Permission is Granted:
-
Neighbours have no
right of appeal against the grant of planning permission except, in
exceptional cases, on legal grounds through the Courts
and you would need to consult a solicitor on this matter.
-
Planning Permission
does not override any civil/property rights you may have over the land
affected, but you would need to consult a solicitor
on this matter.
-
If the development affects or is near to a neighbour’s
house/premises, the developer may need to notify them of proposed
works under the
Party Wall Act. You would need to consult a solicitor on this matter, but
the Council has an explanatory leaflet available on request and
our Building
Control officers can advise you.
back to the top
Do you want to speak to the Planning Committee?
-
You cannot demand to speak at the Committee as of right. The invitation
to speak and the conduct of the meeting is at the discretion of the
Chair of the Planning Committee and subject to the points set out below.
-
You may only speak if the Planning Application is on the
Committee agenda. Many applications are decided by the Chief
Planning Officer under delegated powers, but your letter(s) will be
taken into account however the decision is made. An Application is
normally referred to Committee only when someone has written to the
Chief Planning Officer during the 3-week publicity period with views
contrary to the officers’ recommendation. You may contact
the Planning Department towards the end of this 3-week period
to see if the application will go to the Committee.
-
Only one spokesperson can speak for or against an application.
The Chair of the Committee may exercise discretion to allow a second
speaker,
but only in exceptional cases where a major application generates
divergent views within one ‘side’ of the argument (e.g.
a superstore application where one spokesperson represents residents
and another
local retailers, but both are opposed to the scheme).
-
You must notify the Planning Department of your request to speak
by contacting the Planning Department on (01978) 292016,
or by email: planning@wrexham.gov.uk. You must do this as soon as
possible, but by 4.30 p.m. on the
Friday before the Committee at the latest. Please leave a daytime
telephone
number.
-
If several people wish to speak, they must get together to agree
who the spokesperson will be and inform the Council. It is a condition
of this scheme that you permit the Council to give your contact details
to others (of the same view) who request to speak, to help you nominate
a spokesperson. Should this not lead to agreement, only the first
person to notify the Council as described above will be allowed to
speak.
-
We will inform those who request to speak when the application
will be considered at a particular Committee meeting by telephoning
or writing/e-mailing
no sooner than 3 working days before the meeting. If you have not
provided a telephone number, this may occur as late as the day of
the meeting.
You may inspect the reports on the Committee agenda 3 working days
before the meeting.
-
You must attend the Committee meeting at the Guildhall, Wrexham and
introduce yourself to the Committee Clerk between 6.00 and 6.15 p.m.
The meeting usually starts at 6.30 p.m. on Mondays on a 4-weekly cycle.
See below for Committee dates. The Guildhall is within walking distance
of the bus station, the entrance is adjacent to the Library and parking
is available on Llwyn Isaf off Chester Road (the junction opposite
the entrance to Waterworld).
-
When invited by the Chair of the Committee, you may speak once
and for up to 3 minutes. In preparing for this remember that you
do not need
to repeat all the points in any letter(s) sent in and consultation
replies as these will already have been summarised in the Committee
Report. You
are advised to focus on the key points of concern to you.
- Having spoken you must leave the matter to be debated by the Committee
and must not join in the debate, but the Chair of the Committee may
ask you question(s) to clarify any point(s).
back to the top
Related Links:
Planning
Committee meeting dates
Search for Committee Minutes and Agendas
Online Planning Application Search
Planning
'Code of Practice'
|