Local councils

Role of local councils in planning

• The local council protocol (updated February 2023) sets out how local councils are involved in the application process. Please see the role of local councils in planning page for more information on other aspects. 
• The Cornwall Planning Partnership is a group of officers, local councillors and clerks.  The group looks at planning issues of interest to all local councils.  It helps to improve processes and offers guidance.

Planning application documents

The Head of Planning gives permission for you to download plans and documents relating to planning applications. This can be electronically or paper.  Section 47 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 applies. You cannot copy the documents for your own use as this will infringe copyright. You can only copy documents if you have the permission of the copyright owner. (This may be the person that drew the plans or the author of the document)

Local council planning training

We offer training for local councils:

• following local elections - these are our Local Council Planning Induction Training events, last held in June 2021
• single topic events for all local councils 3 or 4 times a year

You can find information on this training, presentations and other resources using this link: Local Council Planning Training

Planning guidance for local councils

• Day in the life of a Planning Application - An online step by step guide through the entire planning process.  It spans from initial development idea through to the completion of development. 

• Guidance for local councils on pre-application discussions - Guidance on how to deal with approaches from developers, parish-led community engagement, and specific tips about avoiding predetermination

• Protocol for local councils, Cornwall Council and developers - working together - This sets out what each party will be expected to do to help closer working at pre-application stage

• Post decision community engagement guidance - This includes suggestions on how to keep communities updated and a suggested planning condition where this would be helpful during construction