Opportunities to have your say
When the local development scheme is being drafted
The local development scheme is a timetable and programme setting out how the different parts of the framework will be created.
Local authorities had to prepare their first schemes by April 2005.
They specify
- The timetables for producing all the local development documents that will be prepared
- The dates when development plan documents will be presented for consultation and independent examination
- When supplementary planning documents will be consulted on and adopted
- The scheme is reviewed every year through the annual monitoring report, so you'll have a chance to put your comments in when it is up for review.
There is no formal requirement to consult the public on the scheme, although some local authorities may well do so, so it is important you volunteer your ideas as early as possible.
The secretary of state has the power to direct the local authority to change their scheme, so you can write to the secretary of state to ask for changes.
When the statement of community involvement is created
The local authority will consult during the preparation of the statement of community involvement.
There will be a minimum six-week formal consultation period on the submitted document.
That's the minimum time period but why not try to get a longer consultation period written into the statement of community involvement.
When development plan documents are being prepared
Survey/evidence-gathering stage
The local authority must draw up an evidence base and consult people on this.
Make sure that the evidence base takes into account matters such as landscape character, heritage and affordable housing needs.
Suggest to your local authority that it draw up a list of significant local features, perhaps as part of a broader state of the environment report.
The plan preparation stage
The local authority will invite ideas from key stakeholders before it drafts a formal development plan document. The most important development plan document is the Core Strategy.
The submission draft stage
There will be a minium six-week formal consultation period for commenting on proposals, which will include an initial sustainability appraisal report.
Why not try to get a longer consultation period written into the statement of community involvement?
Representations will be made available for inspection and published on the local authority's website.
If a representation affects the allocation of specific sites, a further six weeks must be allowed for people to comment on it.
If the local authority changes the document at this stage, the revised document should go through the same process of advertising and representations.
There will almost certainly be a public hearing.
The time and place, and the name of the inspector, will be publicised six weeks beforehand through a local advertisement, on the authority's website and by notification to everyone who made representations on the document.
With the supplementary planning documents
Consultation during the preparation of supplementary planning documents will vary.
Because these can be used for very different things, the ways that the local authority engages with the public in preparing them are not prescribed in detail: they just have to be suitable for the purpose.
Remember that the local authority can choose how to consult and how widely, but it has to explain afterwards who was consulted and summarise what they said.
The local authority must
- Consider the comments it receives
- Prepare a statement setting out the main issues raised
- Explain how the issues raised have been taken into account
- Make the changes they consider appropriate before adopting the document with the annual monitoring report
- The local authority has to produce its annual monitoring report within nine months of the year ending on 31 March.
During the preparation of the local planning documents you can contribute views about how policies should be monitored.
If you are concerned about how an issue is being addressed, you can ask the local authority to look at it in its annual monitoring report.
The local authority may choose to consult people about the information that emerges from the monitoring process.