APPENDIX

Development Control Charter

Introduction

The Development Control Charter outlines the type and standards of service the Hampshire County Council aims to provide. The policy is for the benefit of:

· Applicants;

· The public - particularly those who are affected by proposals for development;

· District and Parish Councils;

· Statutory Consultees;

· Non-Governmental organisations and environmental interest groups; and

· County Councillors.

Background

Development Control is the regulation of the development and use of land. It involves:

· providing information and advice;

· considering planning applications;

· monitoring development as it takes place; and

· taking enforcement action if breaches of planning control occur.

The planning policy framework is provided by:

· Government advice - Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) and Mineral Planning Guidance (MPG) to be superseded in due course by Planning Policy Statements (PPSs) and Mineral Planning Statements (MPSs) along with Ministerial Statements and Circulars;

· The Hampshire County Structure Plan to be superseded by the South East Plan and relevant Sub Regional Strategies for South Hampshire and the Western Corridor part of North Hampshire; and

· Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Minerals and Waste Local Plans to be superseded by the Hampshire Material Resources Strategy comprising a folder of Mineral and Waste Development Documents.

Planning applications are considered against these plans and the documents that are superseding them as they emerge in conjunction with other `material considerations'.

The Service

Hampshire County Council deals with the following planning applications:

· The County Council's own developments, such as school developments, road schemes, social service proposals, etc under Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992;

· Mineral extraction and waste management developments (County Matters);

· Lawful use applications for minerals and waste management development; and

· Environment Act applications for the review of `planning conditions' at mineral sites that have been operating under their original permissions for more than 15 years.

All other forms of development are the responsibility of district councils. However, the County Council is consulted on district planning policy documents and may advise district councils regarding waste, environmental or other general planning issues.

Pre-Application Discussions

To help to ensure that all relevant information is submitted with the application, and that the application is dealt with as efficiently as possible, the County Council encourages all prospective applicants to contact planning officers for an informal discussion before submitting an application.

Officers will be available during normal office hours to provide general information and advice. Telephone queries will be dealt with immediately if possible, or within two working days if further information is needed. If there are specific issues relating to a proposed development, an appointment can be made to discuss the proposal with an appropriate officer.

Written requests for information will be acknowledged within 5 working days and a full written response will be sent within 15 working days of receipt of the original request.

All pre-application discussions will be recorded by an `agreed note' of the discussions and take place without prejudice to the formal consideration of any future planning application. Discussions can take place at the proposed site, at the County Council's offices or at another convenient location.

If the proposal is largescale or complex, a meeting can be arranged with other relevant County Council officers and other statutory bodies in order to discuss the proposed development.

Officers will advise on:

· relevant planning policy;

· any requirement to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment;

· previous decisions;

· how to submit a planning application;

· the relevant application fee;

· how the decision is made;

· public rights to view information and documentation relating to an application; and

· potential application processing timetable, including Regulatory Committee dates.

Copies of County Council planning policies or other relevant documents are provided to prospective applicants on request.

Submitting a Planning Application

Planning application forms and a list of fees can be obtained from the Environment Department and contact details are given below. Advice on fees and completing the application form is available on request.

A valid application must:

· be submitted on a completed relevant form;

· include a completed Certificate regarding site ownership and/or notification to the landowners of the site;

· include sufficient information to identify the application site, eg a site plan; and

· be accompanied by the relevant fee.

Any application received which is lacking in any of the above will be considered invalid. The applicant will be notified within five working days of receipt of the application and notified of the changes necessary to make the application valid.

On receipt of a valid application, Hampshire County Council:

· sends a copy of the application to the District Council for registration within 3 working days;

· sends written acknowledgement of the application identifying the Case Manager to the applicant within 3 working days; and

· advises the applicant of the registration number (Application No) following registration with the District Council.

If applicants choose to use a professional adviser or agent, then all communication regarding the application will take place directly with the adviser or agent.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

The "Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999" state that if an application is likely to have a significant environmental effect, then an Environmental Statement must be submitted before the application can be determined.

The County Council will `screen' every planning application received - except minor proposals for its own development - to determine whether it is an application covered by the Regulations and is required to be submitted with an Environmental Statement. The applicant will be informed if this is the case and technical advice on Environmental Impact Assessment procedures will be given if required.

Habitats Regulations

Under the "Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1994", the County Council is required to undertake an `appropriate assessment' of any planning application likely to affect the integrity of a European Site or protected species designated under the European Birds and Habitats Directives.

Every planning application received will be examined by the County Council to establish whether it is covered by the Regulations. English Nature will be consulted on appropriate cases and the County Council will decide if the application requires an appropriate assessment and subsequently notify the applicant what information the applicant need submit.

Publicity

Once an application has been registered it will be publicised.

A letter will notify residential neighbours within the following zones surrounding the application site:

· County Council development applications; minor and urban County Matter applications - 50 metre zone; and

· Rural County Matter applications - 100 metre zone.

These are minimum notification distances and larger zones may be used where appropriate.

Alternatively or in addition - depending on the circumstances as judged appropriate by the County Council - a site notice will be posted on or near the application site within 10 working days.

In addition, when an application includes any of the following, a notice is placed in a local paper:

· all mineral and waste applications;

· a requirement to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA);

· a departure from the Development Plan;

· affects a Public Right of Way;

· requires Listed Building Consent; or

· affects a Conservation Area.

All publicity relating to the application states where the application can be inspected, which will normally be the relevant District Council office and main branch library serving the area in which the application site is situated, as well as the County Council offices at the Castle. County Council officers will be available during office hours to provide information and advice on the application.

A minimum period of 21 days is allowed for comments to be made following the publication date of notices.

If major changes are made to an application, it will be re-advertised, allowing a further 14 days for comment on the revised proposal.

The appropriate district council for the area maintains the statutory Planning Register, which lists all planning applications and decisions. The Planning Register includes County Matter and County Council applications and is available for public inspection during office hours. Copies of County Council and County Matter applications are available for inspection at the Environment Department, Hampshire County Council.

All correspondence relating to an application is available for inspection at the Environment Department, Hampshire County Council during office hours. This includes the application, all correspondence with the applicant, and all letters of representation.

Consultation

Statutory consultees who have an interest in the planning application as defined in the Town and Country Planning General Development Procedure Order 1992 (As Amended) will be consulted. The County Council will:

· send out consultation letters to relevant statutory consultees within 5 working days of receipt of a valid application;

· consult district councils at the time the application is sent to them for registration;

· consult appropriate adjoining district and county councils and the relevant parish councils within 5 working days of receipt of the valid application; and

· consult other relevant bodies.

Consultees are required under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) to respond to the County Council within 21 days of being consulted. Accordingly, if no response is received within that time period or the reason for delay is considered unjustified, it may be assumed the consultee has no comments.

Additional Information

Sometimes further information is required to support an application. This may be requested in writing at any time during the processing of an application. Requests for further information should state:

· the reason that the information is required;

· the date by which the information must be received by Hampshire County Council; and

· the consequences of not supplying the requested information.

Deadlines for receipt of information will depend upon the information requested.

Correspondence

When an application is submitted:

· the applicant will be informed of the name of the Case Manager who will be the County Council's principal and first contact on all matters relating to the progress of the application. The applicant will be informed, on request, of the progress of the application;

· the applicant will be advised on the issues raised in responses to publicity and consultation;

· the applicant will be informed at the earliest opportunity if a legal agreement is required; and

· the applicant will be advised of the proposed decision date.

If a decision cannot be made by the proposed decision date the reason will be explained to the applicant by letter. All requests for time extensions will explain why the extension is required.

Representations

Any person wishing to comment on an application should write to or e-mail the relevant address detailed in the site notice, newspaper advertisement or neighbour notification letter.

All representations will be acknowledged within five working days.

All representations received are taken into account before a decision is made and the principal issues that are material to the application will be reported. A minimum of 21 days from the publicity date of the application are normally allowed for representations to be made and later ones will only be taken into account if prior agreement for late submissions has been made.

Decisions

Hampshire County Council determines applications either at a meeting of the Regulatory Committee or by the Director of Environment under a delegation scheme outlined in Appendix 1.

Where the Director of Environment determines applications a report is filed.

If the Regulatory Committee determines an application all persons making representations are entitled to make a deputation to the Committee meeting when the application is being considered. The letter acknowledging a representation will include details of who to contact to arrange this deputation. Further information on making deputations to Committee is available on the following Hantsweb page:

http://hantsnet2000.hants.gov.uk/TC/chiefexecs/democraticprotocols/deputations.html

All decisions are determined having regard to:

· conformity to the Development Plan;

· other `material considerations' relating to the development and use of land; and

· matters of property valuation and details about the applicant are NOT material considerations.

The Regulatory Committee meets every six weeks to consider planning applications. Where the Regulatory Committee determines an application, a report from the Director of Environment sets out the Development Plan policies and material considerations for each application. Deputations are permitted at Committee on the basis outlined above.

The Committee may wish to visit the application site before a decision is made in order to gain a better understanding of the site and its location. Such visits are solely for the purpose of viewing and at no time during the site visit will Committee Members or County Council officers discuss the merits of the proposal.

Following the decision the County Council will issue the `decision notice' to the applicant within three working days of the decision being authorised. The notice will provides reasons for the decision with reference to the Development Plan and other material considerations and set out any conditions in the case of permission.

Regulatory Committee agenda, minutes and reports are publicly available at Hampshire County Council information centres and on the County Council's website:

/decisions/decisions-index/index-mtg-244

Copies of reports and decision notices can be obtained from the Environment Department although a small fee may be charged.

Conditions and Legal Agreements

Some planning applications, especially those related to minerals and waste developments, are often technically complex operations and raise specific matters that need detailed control. In some cases, concerns raised about an application by local residents or consultees, which need to be specifically addressed and are related directly to the application site, may be addressed by planning conditions that control the development.

Minerals and waste developments can have wide ranging impacts beyond the application site, which cannot be controlled by planning conditions. In order to address these off-site issues some planning permissions are linked to legal agreements. Where a legal agreement is proposed the applicant will be informed at the earliest available opportunity. If permission is granted in such cases it will be subject to completion of an agreement between the County Council, the applicant and other land interest, if appropriate. In such cases if no correspondence has been received from the applicant to progress the legal agreement within three months of the decision to grant permission, it will be assumed there is no intention to proceed with the application and it will be assumed that the application has been withdrawn and in effect finally disposed.

If the legal agreement is not completed within six months of the decision to grant permission, the application will be reconsidered by the Director of Environment with the presumption that permission will be refused.

Development Monitoring

Regular monitoring of minerals and waste management development sites will be carried out to ensure that operations are being carried out in accordance with planning permissions and any attached conditions and legal agreements. Priority will be given to the proper restoration and `after care' of sites.

All active mineral and waste sites will be inspected for compliance with the relevant planning permissions. Currently, the County Council aims to visit active sites at least four times a year and non-active sites at least once a year. However, this is being reviewed on the basis of a risk assessment of the potential impact of site operations on the environment.

When visiting a site, officers will normally seek the co-operation of the operator in gaining access but will use legal powers of entry under the "Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended)" where a site is not staffed.

When undertaking site visits, officers will comply with appropriate health and safety requirements and act within relevant legal procedures concerning the investigation of breaches of planning control.

Monitoring of sites enables Hampshire County Council to be aware of the effectiveness of current planning controls and to assist in developing better planning policies.

Enforcement

Enforcement of planning decisions is an essential element of a development control service. Development and uses of land proceed sometimes in breach of a planning permission or without permission at all. In these circumstances the situation should be brought under control by either negotiation or formal enforcement action.

There is no statutory duty to enforce against all breaches of planning control. Enforcement is a discretionary process, recognising that there may be more than one solution to a problem. However, formal powers are available to enable unauthorised developments and breaches to be addressed.

There are several agencies with enforcement powers over various aspects of mineral and waste management developments, including:

· the Environment Agency - pollution control;

· the Environmental Health Authority - statutory nuisance; and

· the Health and Safety Executive - site management.

Complaints about a development, use, operation or management will be directed to the appropriate authority to respond.

Breaches of planning control concerning non-mineral and waste developments, including for the County Council's own development, will be referred to the appropriate district council. Whilst there is no regular monitoring of County Council developments the County Council seeks to ensure that it undertakes its responsibilities in relation to implementing planning permissions. The enforcement procedures apply equally to Hampshire County Council projects as to any other development.

In the event of a breach of planning control taking place:

· where investigations determine that the breach is outside the scope of planning control, it will be referred to the appropriate agency;

· where the nature of the breach overlaps with responsibilities of another agency, the County Council will work in partnership with that body to resolve the matter; and

· where the breach is within the scope of planning control, the County Council will first seek to resolve it through negotiation.

Planning Policy Guidance Note 18 (PPG18) sets out guidance on how planning authorities should proceed with enforcement. Formal enforcement proceedings will be taken after alternatives to resolve a problem have been pursued, or where it is necessary to take immediate action to prevent serious harm or irreparable damage occurring. The County Council does not condone breaches of planning control. However, it will take action commensurate with the scale and nature of the breach. If a breach of planning control is substantiated, Hampshire County Council will:

· advise the developer and/or landowner of the situation, in writing, within 5 working days;

· advise the action required to correct the breach; and

· advise on the timescale within which the action should be taken.

As part of this procedure, Hampshire County Council may serve a Planning Contravention Notice to gather information and to allow the developer or landowner to undertake remedial measures before formal enforcement action is started.

Subsequent events are monitored to ensure compliance and the relative conclusions reported to the complainant. However, enforcement is a legal process and details of action taken may remain confidential until concluded.

An Annual Report is produced for minerals and waste planning. The report contains information on the progress of the development of minerals and waste sites. It also includes information on complaints received and enforcement. The annual report contains information in such a format as to enable year-on-year comparisons to be made.

Progress on statutory enforcement action taken by the County Council is regularly reported to the Regulatory Committee.

Complaints

The County Council cannot have staff present at all sites and all the time. Local people are often the first to complain about breaches of planning control.

All complaints are logged in a Complaints Register containing:

· the date and time the complaint is received;

· the nature of the complaint ;

· the name, address, telephone number and email address of the complainant (including any special circumstances notified, eg disability, age, etc); and

· details of the action taken and the outcome.

The appropriate officer will contact complainants within two working days and will explain the situation and discuss remedial or corrective action. A meeting will be arranged if sought by the complainant.

Investigations into alleged breaches will normally take place within two working days of the date of the complaint being registered. The complainant will be kept informed of progress of subsequent investigations subject to confidentiality issues noted above. Responses to complaints will normally be by telephone or email according to the method of receipt of the complaint, but written responses will be given on request.

All complaints about services provided by the County Council are investigated fully and promptly in accordance with a complaints procedure.

Contact should be made with the relevant member of staff or the department manager in the first instance, who will endeavour to resolve the problem. However, if the issue is not satisfactorily resolved, it can be reported to the Chief Executive who will arrange for the complaint to be investigated. Complaints can be made by filling in an on-line complaints form:

https://www.hants.gov.uk/complaints/complain.html#form

or by calling Hampshire County Council information centre on
Freefone 0800 028 0888 or free Textphone 0808 100 2484 for Hampshire Residents or +44(0)1962 870500 for callers outside Hampshire.

Appendix 1

Scheme of Delegation for Planning Decisions

In accordance with the provisions of Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), the Director of Environment shall take decisions under Part III (Control of Development) and Part VII (Enforcement) of the Town and Country Planning Act (as amended) and related secondary legislation, including the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 and the Conservation ( Natural Habitats Etc) Regulations 1994, except when one of the following apply:

· a Member of the County Council requests that the decision be made by the Regulatory Committee;

· the Director of Environment considers that the application be considered by the Regulatory Committee;

· the proposal involves the County Council either as land owner or applicant and the scheme is not of a minor and/or temporary nature;

· the applicant is a Member or an officer of the County Council;

· a representation is received requesting to make a `deputation'; or

· the decision may result in a financial compensation claim being made against any local authority.

If it is unclear who should make the decision, the Chairman of the Regulatory Committee will be consulted on who should make the decision.

All decisions determined by the Director of Environment or the Regulatory Committee will be published on the County Council's website and a summary incorporated in the Hampshire Material Resources Strategy: Annual Monitoring Report.

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