Planning
Parish Councils are asked to give feedback to the District Council about any planning matters affecting their village and its surrounding community. This can be as little as putting up a satellite dish, or as big as building a new housing estate. However the District Council is NOT obliged to take the Parish Council's views into account.
The Parish Council are only able to comment on certain things, which are laid down by the council and are known as "material planning matters". These are rules that the council's Planning Dept also have to follow. The most common things we and members of the public can assess and comment on are:
- Loss of privacy
- Over shadowing
- Overbearing impact
- Road safety
- Effect on the character of the area
- Effect on trees or landscape
Things that people often think affect planning permission but actually don't, include:
- Loss of value of property
- Loss of private view
- That a lot of people have objected
- That the work started without planning permission
Click here to find out about current planning applications (you can also make comments on them online), what it means to be in a Conservation Area, how to apply for planning permission, and to track the progress of an application.
Download a leaflet about living in a Conservation Area by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
Also please remember that if you want to remove or even just prune trees or hedgerows on your land you will need to consult the Council Planning Office, whether or not the tree in question is subject to a Tree Preservation Order. Even if a tree is rotten or dead, you should consult the Council before removing it. Click here to make an application, which is free. There is also information here about tree care, what trees are under preservation orders in addition to being in a Conservation Area and what trees are native to the area.