Alvechurch Parish Council
serving Alvechurch, Bordesley, Forhill, Hopwood, Rowney Green and Weatheroak.
serving Alvechurch, Bordesley, Forhill, Hopwood, Rowney Green and Weatheroak.
Alvechurch Parish Council’s advice and information for residents when commenting and/or objecting to Planning Applications.
Who makes the Planning Decisions?
The determining Planning Authority for planning applications in our Parish is Bromsgrove District Council (BDC). Part of the process requires BDC to consult Alvechurch Parish Council (APC) when a new application is received. The APC’s Planning Committee considers each application and submits their comments to BDC within a prescribed timescale. These comments take the form of either ‘no objections’ or ‘objections’, with appropriate commentary and are based on ‘material considerations’ (see the list below*).
BDC is obliged to deal with minor applications within 8 weeks of being formally registered and within 13 weeks if it is a major application. There are two routes for applications to be determined. The first is under ‘delegated powers’ which means the decision is made by BDC Planning Officers. The second is decided by BDC’s Planning Committee (made up of District Councillors) at their monthly meeting and this is open to the public.
How can you comment or register your objections to an application?
You are welcome to attend our Planning Committee meetings to comment on any application. Details of these can be found on the first page of each monthly Agenda. You will find each month’s Agenda displayed in our office window, on the notice boards around the Parish and online. Alternatively, please contact the Assistant Clerk for further information on (0121) 447 8016.
If you do wish to support or object to a planning application, as well as sending your comments to BDC (where your comments will be published via the Public Access website) and letting APC know, you can make immediate contact with your District Ward Councillor to share your views with him or her. Your Ward Councillor can then consider if the planning application ought to be determined by BDC’s Planning Committee, rather than be determined by the planning officers using their ‘delegated powers’. Your District Councillor can ask for any application to be ‘called in’ to be determined by BDC’s Planning Committee, but strict timescales for this apply. It is therefore important that early contact with your District Councillor is made if you feel the application warrants such a course of action.
If the application of concern to you is to be determined by BDC’s Planning Committee, you may wish to attend their meeting. In addition, you can request to address the committee to voice your objections or support, with a maximum of 3 minutes to do so. However, you do need to request to do this in advance and arrangements will be made by the Committee’s Clerk according to the number of people wanting to address the Committee.
How can you view plans and contact the Parish Council regarding planning applications?
Plans can be inspected at the Parish Council Office at Ground Floor 1A, George Road, Alvechurch between 09 am and 11 am, Monday – Thursday or online using the following link:- https://publicaccess.bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk/online-applications
Comments about any application can be made to Bromsgrove District Council via the link above. If you wish the APC Planning Committee to view your comments for consideration at our next meeting, then please forward a copy to the following email address: – assistantclerk@alvechurch.gov.uk or post them to our office at Ground Floor, 1a George Road, Alvechurch B48 7PB, to arrive before the day of the meeting.
Who is my District Councillor in the Parish of Alvechurch and how do I contact them?
What happens after the District Council has made its decision?
The applicant is notified of the outcome as soon as the decision has been made by either BDC’s Planning Officers or its Planning Committee. BDC will also notify their decision to all those who submitted comments to them. Additionally, details of the decision included in the Decision Notice are posted to the application’s file on the Public Access website.
If the applicant is not happy with the outcome, they have the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, which is an executive agency sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
There is however no third-party right of appeal, which means that although you may be dissatisfied with the outcome it is not possible for you or the Parish Council to appeal or ask for the decision to be reconsidered.
Appeals are dealt with by the Planning Inspectorate, based in Bristol. If you had submitted comments to the original application, then BDC will contact you to advise of the appeal, the procedure and the opportunity to comment further. The deadline for comments is 5 weeks after the start date of the appeal.
For further reading, please refer to https://www.planningportal.co.uk/
*Material Considerations are the matters that should be taken into account when deciding whether to grant planning permission, such as, but not limited to, the following matters:
However, issues such as loss of view, or negative effect on the value of properties are not material considerations.