May newsletter
Somerset Councillor for Frome North (Lib Dem) Learn more
by adamboyden on 16 March, 2023
As I said in my newsletters, the Somerset Councils are consulting on a new Statement of Community Involvement, which sets out how Somerset Council will involve and consult local communities, organisations and others in the planning process, including in preparing planning policy documents and in determining planning applications, including how neighbours to a development site are notified – please see https://somerset.inconsult.uk/sci/consultationHome.
The online consultation portal closes for comments at 11.59pm today 16th March 2023, but as some stakeholders (including Frome Town Council) were not aware of this consultation until this week, and asked for an extension to the deadline, (a request I and other councillors supported), the local planning policy team have agreed that comments can continue to be sent to the localplanningpolicy@somerset.gov.uk email address up to the 31st March, two weeks from now. So everyone now has more time to respond.
If anyone needs a pdf copy of the document please let me know (email adam.boyden@somerset.gov.uk) and I can email it to you. The https://somerset.inconsult.uk/sci/consultationHome website content is copied below, and my consultation response is further below:
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Overview
The new Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) will set out how Somerset Council will involve our communities, organisations and other interested parties in the planning process. This includes when we prepare and consult on our future planning policy documents, including our Local Plan, and how we will involve people and organisations when we assess and decide on planning applications for new development. We are consulting on the draft SCI from 1st February 2023 to 16th March 2023.
Why your views matter
Under Government legislation the new Somerset Council is required to produce a SCI. With the formation of the new Somerset Unitary from April 2023 there is a need to produce a new single SCI for the whole of the new Somerset planning authority area. This will ensure a consistent approach to how we engage with our communities on planning matters. We have prepared a draft document and are seeking your views on this. Please feel free to comment on anything you think may help us improve the document further.
What happens next
After the consultation has ended we will refine the document, taking into the account the comments received. The SCI will then be taken forward for adoption when the new Somerset Council is established later this year.
If you would like to watch a video with a short explanation about the consultation please click here.
How to Comment
Please submit your views to us in one of the following ways:
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My comments are as follows:
‘The SCI is a very well written and on the whole very clear document. It explains the processes and requirements well.
Planning policy:
I would like to see more detail on the additional requirements that Strategic Environmental Assessment/Sustainability Appraisal requires of plan-making, including the preparation of and consultation on a Scoping Report.
Development Management:
Pre-application consultation – I would like to see the SCI in 5.2 set out in outline what expectations of good practice the Council has of applicants. This should include methods of consultation, such as leafleting residents in an area where the environment may be affected by a proposal, online or in-person exhibitions of proposals, presentations at parish/town council public meetings, media and social media publicity, local stakeholder identification, and the preparation of a report of consultation to set out the responses and how views have been addressed in the final proposals where possible, with reference to published good practice guidelines. Perhaps a guidance note could be added later.
Section 5.3 Application Stage, under ‘How we consult’, on page 18, states ‘The Council is required to publicise an application either by serving a written notice to neighbours or by displaying a site notice, depending on the type of application. Where neighbours are to be notified, as a minimum the Council will notify any adjoining owner or occupier. If a site notice is required, it will be displayed in a prominent position on or near to the site. Appendix 3 provides an extract from Government Guidance summarising these requirements.’
How the Council notifies neighbours to a proposed development is possibly the most important stage, as if people are not aware of a planning application they cannot respond to it, leading to their disengagement and damage to the Council’s reputation. I have heard too many times where near neighbours to a development were not consulted because their property did not directly adjoin the application site, although they were close and their environment is affected and they would have had relevant comments. The SCI needs to be clear about the circumstances in which a site notice or neighbour notification letter will be required for major and non-major developments (as the legal requirement is for either but no further details are provided) and the process and criteria for deciding which it is.
Also the SCI needs to be clear on the process and criteria for deciding which neighbours are notified. It only refers to the minimum of adjoining owner or occupier, so seems to imply that the minimum will be applied in most circumstances, to save money. The SCI should set out the circumstances in which it is appropriate to only notify the immediately adjoining neighbours (e.g. householder applications), and when a more extensive notification zone is more appropriate (e.g. for demolition, redevelopment or greenfield site development which could affect a wider area).
I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these points, and clarity on when the revised SCI will come to a committee – perhaps Climate and Place Scrutiny, which I am down to Vice-Chair? I may also have further comments which I will email next week.’
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