10 July 2007
Please state your policy, as Chairman of the Council's Planning Committee, or if you do not have a relevant policy the Council's policy and/or procedure, which ensures that Councillors on the Planning Committee are:
(a) given access to the identical information on planning matters, before planning meetings convene, referred to them for decision; (b) hear the identical arguments and see the identical information at planning meetings; and (c) that no Councillor attending any meeting of the Planning Committee: (i) is being disadvantaged by not getting the same information as other Members of the Committee; or (ii) is being excluded from any debate or discussion; or (iii) has less access to information, in the widest sense of the word, than other members of the committee.
(a) given access to the identical information on planning matters, before planning meetings convene, referred to them for decision;
(b) hear the identical arguments and see the identical information at planning meetings; and
(c) that no Councillor attending any meeting of the Planning Committee:
(i) is being disadvantaged by not getting the same information as other Members of the Committee; or (ii) is being excluded from any debate or discussion; or (iii) has less access to information, in the widest sense of the word, than other members of the committee.
(i) is being disadvantaged by not getting the same information as other Members of the Committee; or
(ii) is being excluded from any debate or discussion; or
(iii) has less access to information, in the widest sense of the word, than other members of the committee.
Procedures are in place to seek to ensure that Members of the Planning Committee all receive the same level of advice and information to enable them to make their judgement on planning applications and other decisions they are required to make.
All Members of the Council are sent regular listings of new applications, decisions taken by officers under delegated powers and decisions made by the Committee. It is then open to them to either request further details from officers or to view the Planning files at Wellington House.
The Planning Committee agenda is sent to all Members of the Committee in advance of the meeting. The "front sheet" is also sent to all other Members and they can then seek further details from Democratic Services if they so wish.
An Amendment Sheet is circulated at the Planning Committee meeting to those in attendance setting out relevant information received since the dispatch of the agenda.
On occasions applicants or objectors seek to circulate documents at the Committee meeting. Officers seek to discourage this but where it happens they are asked to present this to the Committee Administrator to agree with the Chair whether it should be circulated.
It is also common for applicants or objectors to send documents direct to Committee Members; clearly this is something that cannot be controlled.
A briefing is held between the Chair and the Head of Planning and Strategic Policy/Head of Development Control after the agenda has been dispatched to give the Chair a brief introduction to the items to be discussed at the Committee meeting.
