Planning
An important role for the Parish Council is to review and comment on Planning Applications in the Parish. We are an officially recognised Consultee for Planning Applications, and as such we review and comment on all Planning Applications for the Parish. We may also occasionally be added as an official Consultee for applications in adjoining parishes.
Our responses, (based on a majority vote across all councillors who don’t express a direct interest in an application) fall into one of three areas:
- Support – To support an application, it would have to have a major positive impact for a significant part of the Parish.
- Neutral – This is our response to most applications. It means that we don’t oppose it for any specific reason, but we also don’t see it bringing sufficient overall benefits to warrant a Support response.
- Object – There are a number of grounds on which we can object. These must always be based on planning laws and regulations, and our belief that an application contravenes one or more specific Mid-Suffolk District Council (MSDC) or National Planning Policies Guidelines (NPPF).
Our responses to every application can be found on the MSDC Planning Portal via the link below.
It’s important to note that we always review applications through a broad and independent lens, thinking about the pros and cons in relation to the Parish as a whole. Our role is not to support the views or arguments of a particular developer (company or householder) or those of an individual objecting neighbour to a development.
The Parish Council’s opinion is only one voice, and our response has no more weight than any individual comments when it comes to MSDC planners making their decision. The MSDC Planning Portal website provides opportunity for any member of the public to give their views (positive or negative) on any application. We encourage all residents to make use of this facility to ensure their opinions are heard and taken into account by the planners.
A key factor in our approach to planning and planning applications is one of fairness and equitability. We want to see rules applied equally across all applicants, whether they are sole developers or larger businesses, for both the consideration of the application itself and the monitoring and enforcement of associated restrictions/actions.
Planning applications due for discussion at a Parish Council meeting are always shown on the agenda, which is posted on the Parish Council website and notice boards.