Has anyone ever spoken at a planning meeting?

[user1484830599]

I'd be grateful of any tips if you have. Do I need to register in advance? I know that I will have three minutes to speak.

I am objecting to an application, if that makes a difference. I am a terrible public speaker but I feel very strongly that this is entirely unsuitable for the proposed location that I know I would be cross with myself if I didn't and the application was then approved. At least if I try (no matter how badly I speak) I'll at least know I did everything I could.

I haven’t spoken, but have seen others do so. They are a humourless (dispassionate) bunch! You get three minutes to speak uninterrupted so could easily read from a pre-prepared speech if you felt more comfortable doing so. Bear in mind that your emotions / anxiety is not a consideration in the decision to grant permission or not - the application either matches the planning code or it doesn’t. Your job is to prove that it doesn’t.

Yes. You need to be sure that your objection falls within the relevant criteria to object, simply not liking a plan isn't appropriate grounds for objection.

Rehearse and time your speech. They won't allow any extension. Make sure it's within the time specified.

I used to be on a local planning committee and one thing I managed to successfully ask be implemented were routings for access to a site (the original access was on a blind corner).

Your requests and objection should be based on the local area criteria so I'd suggest you consult your local authority website planning pages which should set out criteria.

No heartfelt pleas about how the plan will ruin your uninterrupted views/make your garden dark blah blah etc etc. They won’t care. They need legitimate reasons for denying the other party permission, so you must find out what these reasons are.

Do your homework and find out exactly why the plan breaches code and argue your point dispassionately. Practice your speech and stay within time limit. Good luck!

I have, I was very nervous but the planning committee were lovely about it.
My objection was about access to my property when work was ongoing and not to the plans themselves. As it was my objection was taken into account and the plans were modified to allow access at all times. (It was a factory modifying a delivery yard entrance, which would affect the road to my house.)
In the end though the building work never happened as the recession hit and we then moved.

Thank you everyone. That's really helpful. I'm still hoping a neighbour will volunteer to speak instead as I feel sick when I think of it. My plan is to write a speech and stick to it.

My reasons are all genuine and there were other objections all along the same lines, I checked the list if what you could object for before I submitted my written objections, so I will just stick to those.

I know it is near enough futile, as the developer has a history of going to secretary of state when they are refused, but I have to at least try.

Everyone is allowed to appeal a decision made by amateur councillors. It’s natural justice! If there are similar objections, it doesn’t make them correct. Volume of objections don’t count. The validity of the objections does. Has the planning officer recommended it for approval? Most people who speak are not really given much weight because it’s ususlly emotional twaddle and nothing to do with planning policy.

Look very carefully at what you are saying, what the planning officer is saying and what the relevant policies are that govern the site. Is it in a local or neighbourhood plan? If it is truly unacceptable it will be turned down. If it is turned down out of nimbyism, it will go to appeal, and probably win, especially if it’s a designated site.

I understand that they are allowed to appeal BubblesBuddy, which is fine, it is more that the aggression of this developer for sites which are not always appropriate. Without going into detail it is an entirely unsuitable and unnecessary site, and not designated in the slightest.

It isn't in a local plan, and the parish council did not raise an objection. I don't know if the planning officer is recommending it, how could I find that out please?

I understand that similar objections are not always correct, however in this case I can provide a cast iron guarantee that they are relevant and genuine planning reasons and I can assure you that there is absolutely no nimbyism whatsoever.

Hello, I act as a legal advisor to planning committees as part of my job.
The key is to come prepared. You need to understand what are and are not relevant considerations, otherwise you are just wasting your time.

That done, the key is to be constructive as far as possible. So making suggestions how the development could be mitigated against is as often more useful than just saying you don’t like it.

Thank you NeverTwerkNaked, that is really useful advice.

I have already looked at what is relevant and included that in my objection, so I'll use that and look through planning guidelines to see if there is anything else I should be aware of.

It is in a conservation area and an AONB, but I can't find anything about how it is relevant to planning applications in my area - does anyone have any idea where I could look to find info about this please?

I am director of a combined planning and architectural practice, so obviously speak at lots of committees.

My advice, for what it's worth:

• Don't get emotive.
• DON'T be critical of the Planning Officer or Planning Department (and don't try to demonise the applicant). As @NeverTwerkNaked* has said, stick rigidly to 'material' planning considerations and local/national policy. There's a good basic list here.

You probably won't find anything about how the application being in a Conservation Area and an AONB is relevant to the Planning Application because in and of itself, it's not relevant. Neither a Conservation Area nor an AONB necessarily precludes development - it merely means that there will be more scrutiny than usual on the character and quality of the design. There may be some relevant policies in the Local Plan, relating to heritage or design quality, but they'll be fairly woolly, if there are.

Thats really helpful thank you Sensus. I won't make any reference to conservation area/AONB then. Unfortunately our local plan is still being created, so that isn't a factor either.

"I won't make any reference to conservation area/AONB then."

I wouldn't say don't make reference to it: but a conservation area/AONB "only" means that the design of the proposals needs to achieve the highest levels of sensitivity and sympathy to its surroundings, not that it shouldn't take place at all. You can still certainly try to make arguments that the impact is too great, or that the design is unsympathetic to the character of the area.

If you have an emerging Local Plan, there will be an old Local Plan that still carries some weight. How much weight the new and old plans carry, respectively, depends on how far through the process the new Plan is.

If your Local Authority can't demonstrate an adequate and well-evidenced supply of land for new housing, it's a soft target. The rule in that instance is that any policies in the old Plan that are directly related to housing are considered out-of-date, BUT there have been recent appeal decisions which have tightened up on the definition of what can be considered to be 'related to housing'... it doesn't over-rule everything.

Unfortunately, Planning is complicated, so if you're serious about making an effective objection , you should consider employing a Planning Consultant - you can be damned sure that the housebuilder you're opposing will have done so, and that's why they frequently come across as arrogant or aggressive... it's simply that they know what they're doing, whereas, for the most part, their opponents don't.