Planning Committee meetings

There are three Planning Committees that cover applications within West Northamptonshire, and details about these Committees including agendas, decisions and minutes can be found here:

• North Planning Committee
• South Planning Committee
• Strategic Planning Committee

North Planning Committee deals with planning applications falling within the following wards:

• Braunston and Crick
• Brixworth
• Moulton
• Long Buckby
• Daventry East
• Daventry West
• Woodford and Weedon
• Duston West and St Crispin
• Duston East
• Dallington Spencer
• Abington and Phippsville
• Kingsthorpe North
• Kingsthorpe South
• Boothville and Parklands
• Headlands
• Talavera
• Billing and Rectory Farm

South Planning Committee deals with planning applications falling within the following wards:

• Brackley
• Bugbrooke
• Deanshanger
• Hackleton and Grange Park
• Middleton Cheney
• Towcester and Roade
•  Silverstone
• St George
• Sixfields
• East Hunsbury and Shelfleys
• Delapre and Rushmere
• Castle
• Riverside Park
• Nene Valley

The Committees shall only consider planning applications that are within its remit, and not within the remit of the Strategic Planning Committee and/or delegated to Officers.

The only exception is where the Assistant Director for Planning and Development considers it applicable an application to determine by Planning Committee, having considered public representations and consultee responses or when an application has been called in by a Councillor.

Applications that would trigger Committee decision include:

• Major developments below the limits set for Strategic Planning Committee
• Major residential developments of 10 or more dwellings
• Major commercial development where the floorspace is more than 1000 square metres
• Development on sites of over one hectare (including outline applications where the number of dwellings or floorspace is not specified)
• Change of use applications of more than 1000 square metres

Strategic Planning Committee is responsible for functions relating to town and country planning and development control as specified in Part A of Schedule 1 of the Local Authorities Functions and Responsibilities (England) Regulations 2000 including in relation to strategic applications meeting the thresholds set out in (i), (ii) and (iii) below:

• Large-scale major developments defined (by the Government’s planning application statistical returns) as those of 200 houses or more
• Commercial developments of 10,000 square metres or more
• Strategically important developments (as identified by the Assistant Director of Planning and Development in consultation with the Chair of the Planning Committee for the area in which the development is proposed and the Cabinet Member for Planning).

The Strategic Planning Committee is also responsible for: 

• Applications that cross the boundary of the North and South Planning Committees
• Any applications where the Assistant Director of Planning and Development considers it inappropriate to exercise delegated powers
• There shall be no referral down of applications from the Strategic Planning Committee to the North or South Planning Committees or vice versa. 

Details of the Planning Committees (agendas, minutes, and decisions) prior to the creation of West Northamptonshire Council are available on request by email to [email protected].

The following people can speak at Planning Committee:

• Applicant / agent: If both register you will need to nominate a speaker
• Objectors: Up to two people who wish to object an individual planning application, an enforcement recommendation or any other quasi-judicial matter on the agenda. If there are more than two objectors, they may organise a spokesperson to speak on their behalf
• Supporters: Up to two people who wish to support an individual planning application, an enforcement recommendation or any other quasi-judicial matter on the agenda. If there are more than two supporters, they may organise a spokesperson to speak on their behalf
• Ward Councillors who are not members of the Planning Committee: If Ward Councillors sit on the Planning Committee, they may nominate a substitute Councillor to speak
• Members of Parliament: If the whole or part of their constituency is within West Northamptonshire Council’s boundaries
• Parish / Town Councillors: A representative of a parish council in whose area the application relates. 

If you have commented on an application in writing, or you are the applicant or agent for an application, we will contact you to let you know when the application is being considered.

You should not feel obliged to address the Planning Committee but, if you wish to do so, you must register with Democratic Services as soon as possible, and in any event not later than midday on the last working day before the Planning Committee. This applies to all speakers, including Ward Councillors. You are required to indicate whether you will be speaking against or in support of an application.

Speakers may register with Democratic Services by telephone, email or in writing using the contact details below:

Consideration of an application will not be delayed because someone who has registered to speak is unable to attend the meeting.

If you are a speaker who is not a member of the Planning Committee, you are only allowed to make statements. You cannot ask questions and must take no further part in the procedure once you have finished your statement. Fresh material (which has not first been seen by Planning officers) cannot be circulated to the councillors.

You may speak about material planning considerations and relevant facts pertinent to any planning application that you have made a written representation on, and which is on the agenda for determination at the Planning Committee.

Some examples of material planning considerations and issues that may be taken into account include:

• the environmental impact of the development
• the impact of the development on the highway network
• any policy in the Council’s Local Development Framework, or the relevant Local Plan for your area
• central and regional Government planning policy guidance, circulars, orders and statutory instruments
• planning laws and previous decisions
• noise, disturbance, smells
• residential amenity
• design, appearance and layout
• impact on trees, listed buildings and conservation areas
• public open space

Issues that will not be taken into account include:

• boundary disputes
• private rights of way, private covenants or agreements
• the applicant’s conduct, private affairs or how a business is run
• the applicant’s motives (including profit)
• the impact on property values
• suspected further development
• loss of views over other people’s land
• land ownership

You cannot circulate plans, photographs, or other material at the Committee meeting. Any such documentation should be submitted to the Assistant Director Economic Growth and Regeneration marked for the attention of the relevant Planning Officer as part of the existing consultation arrangements.

Normally you will prepare your own case and it should not be necessary to ask a legal advisor or other expert to speak for you. However please note that statements of a personal or slanderous nature could result in legal action against you.

The discussion on applications will be dealt with as follows:

• the Chair of the Committee will announce the application
• an officer will present the item and will add any further information relevant to the application and report
• members of the public can then speak in the following order:
  • objector
  • parish or town council(s)
  • MP
  • Ward Councillor(s)
  • supporter
  • applicant/agent
• a planning officer may summarise issues before the matter is debated by the Planning Committee Members and a vote taken.

All speakers at the Area Planning Committees are allowed a maximum of three minutes to address the Committee. Speakers at the Strategic Planning Committee will have five minutes in which to make their statement. Participants addressing the Planning Committee will be advised when they have 60 seconds of their allotted time remaining and will be expected to cease talking immediately on being advised that their time is up. The Chair has discretion to permit questions from the Planning Committee Members to the various speakers, after they have read out their statement.

In the event of any dispute over these procedures or the protocol, the Chair’s decision is final.

Please note: Public speaking is only allowed on applications that we will determine, and not on consultations from other authorities.

Any Member of the Council can “call-in” a planning application to a Planning Committee for determination.

Call‐in requests must be submitted in writing within 21 days from the beginning of the consultation period, or within 7 days from the beginning of any subsequent re-consultation period.

Please address these to the Assistant Director of Planning and email them to [email protected]. 

Call‐ins must be based on valid and relevant planning grounds and any issue relating to the propriety of the specified planning grounds will be determined by the Monitoring Officer. By making a call-in request, a Member is indicating that they consider the issues require debate by the Planning Committee.

A Member who has called-in a planning application is expected to attend the Planning Committee meeting at which the application they referred is to be discussed, to address the Planning Committee and explain their views on the application and expand on their call-in reasons.

Members are expected to attend and speak at a planning committee meeting that considers a planning application they have called-in. If a member cannot attend, they should endeavour to ask another member to attend on their behalf or submit a written statement to Democratic Services no later than 24 hours before the start of the meeting. An application that has been called in will still be considered by a planning committee if the member does not attend or does not submit a written statement in lieu of attending.