What's new in Planning
Area Team Planning - Project Update
Following a successful trial in the Liskeard/Looe Community Network Areas, it has been decided to implement area-based planning across Cornwall, together with changes to planning processes following a lean process review which was carried out at the same time. A project has been set up to deliver:
- 8 multi-disciplinary planning teams based on a group of community network areas dealing with all types of planning applications and enforcement matters from receipt through to decision;
- a Cornwall-wide team of specialist functions, including a dedicated development management function for the Council's Investment and Housing Development Programme and a proactive enforcement service;
- a central function of support services.
The structure for the eight area teams has now been finalised. The original trial area of Liskeard and Looe/Cornwall Gateway (Area 7) has been expanded to include the Caradon Community Network Area. A second area team (Area 8) will be launched ahead of schedule on 28 January 2019.
The project is aimed to be implemented by April 2019 and there will be an opportunity to meet the new Area Team Officers at the Agents Forum which is being planned for that month.
If you have any questions on the Area Team project, please send them to: egdcustomerrelations@cornwall.gov.uk.
Post-Decision Community Engagement – Guiding Principles for Local Councils
The Cornwall Planning Partnership have been working on guidance for local councils that would be helpful in those cases where communities feel that a particular development may need some form of ongoing communication between the developers and local residents during the construction phase.
Local Councils can:
- Raise the likely need for post-decision community engagement on Planning Application consultation responses, during the consideration of applications, or
- Speak with the Planning case officer about what form of engagement would be appropriate to your Council were planning permission to be granted.
Where appropriate, Cornwall Council will add informatives, planning conditions, or S106 agreement clauses on planning permissions to address this point. The guidance produced by the Planning Partnership was agreed on 17.1.19 and includes an example of a condition that local councils can suggest.
More details on the work of the Cornwall Planning Partnership are contained on the Planning Partnership Meetings webpage.
Validation Guide 2019 including the Local List
The Planning and Sustainable Development Service has produced a Validation Guide (which includes an updated local validation list). This provides applicants and agents with as much information as possible to submit an application ‘right first time’ and avoid any delays at validation or during the planning process.
Main changes include:
- A single guide for both the public and internal staff.
- A more concise guide achieved through reducing the amount of duplicated information.
- Increase in information and guidance achieved through links to useful documents, webpages and guidance
- More detailed information regarding specific plans with the aim of improving quality
Significant updates have been made with regards to:
- Contaminated Land
- Air Quality
- Noise
- Odour
- Affordable Housing
- Plans
Revised Processes and Charges
From 1 January 2019 Planning and Sustainable Development will be making some changes to its process and charges. Please see our revised process and changes document for further information.
Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data in Planning Applications
Where there is a need to submit information considered ‘personal data’ or ‘sensitive personal data’ under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) this information should be submitted in a separate document without cross-referencing in documents that can be made public, and marked as confidential.
The definition of ‘personal data’ and ‘Sensitive Personal Data’ can be found on page 8 of Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and will include for example personal circumstances and health information.
New charge on development
From 1 January 2019, Cornwall Council will be a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Authority, and any new development determined after this date could be liable to pay a CIL. CIL may also be charged on development approved by way of general consent if it commences after 1 January 2019. Visit www.cornwall.gov.uk/cil now to find out how CIL may affect your development.
Planning Committee Notifications
From 1 January 2019, we will no longer be writing to contributors individually to notify them if an application is to be considered by a Planning Committee as this information is available on our
website and can be obtained by tracking applications via the online register. We will continue to notify contributors if the Committee decides to hold a formal site meeting or public meeting.
Planning Portal and iApply Submissions
9 out of 10 agents submit applications via iApply or the Planning Portal. If you submit applications via iApply or the Planning Portal your documents automatically drop into our back-office system giving you immediate assurance that the documents have been received. Submitting applications in this way speeds up our processes.
Applications submitted by alternative means such as by email or in hard copy divert resources to other processes that enable the documents to be published on-line, which leads to a delay in those applications being validated.
We would therefore encourage you to continue to submit applications in a way that speeds up the process.
Area Team Planning - Project Update
Following a successful trial in the Liskeard/Looe Community Network Areas, it has been decided to implement area-based planning across Cornwall, together with changes to planning processes following a lean process review which was carried out at the same time. A project has been set up to deliver:
Continue reading- 8 multi-disciplinary planning teams based on a group of community network areas dealing with all types of planning applications and enforcement matters from receipt through to decision;
- a Cornwall-wide team of specialist functions, including a dedicated development management function for the Council's Investment and Housing Development Programme and a proactive enforcement service;
- a central function of support services.
The structure for the eight area teams has now been finalised. The original trial area of Liskeard and Looe/Cornwall Gateway (Area 7) has been expanded to include the Caradon Community Network Area. A second area team (Area 8) will be launched ahead of schedule on 28 January 2019.
The project is aimed to be implemented by April 2019 and there will be an opportunity to meet the new Area Team Officers at the Agents Forum which is being planned for that month.
If you have any questions on the Area Team project, please send them to: egdcustomerrelations@cornwall.gov.uk.
The Cornwall Planning Partnership have been working on guidance for local councils that would be helpful in those cases where communities feel that a particular development may need some form of ongoing communication between the developers and local residents during the construction phase.
Local Councils can:
- Raise the likely need for post-decision community engagement on Planning Application consultation responses, during the consideration of applications, or
- Speak with the Planning case officer about what form of engagement would be appropriate to your Council were planning permission to be granted.
Where appropriate, Cornwall Council will add informatives, planning conditions, or S106 agreement clauses on planning permissions to address this point. The guidance produced by the Planning Partnership was agreed on 17.1.19 and includes an example of a condition that local councils can suggest.
More details on the work of the Cornwall Planning Partnership are contained on the Planning Partnership Meetings webpage.
The Planning and Sustainable Development Service has produced a Validation Guide (which includes an updated local validation list). This provides applicants and agents with as much information as possible to submit an application ‘right first time’ and avoid any delays at validation or during the planning process.
Main changes include:
- A single guide for both the public and internal staff.
- A more concise guide achieved through reducing the amount of duplicated information.
- Increase in information and guidance achieved through links to useful documents, webpages and guidance
- More detailed information regarding specific plans with the aim of improving quality
Significant updates have been made with regards to:
- Contaminated Land
- Air Quality
- Noise
- Odour
- Affordable Housing
- Plans
From 1 January 2019 Planning and Sustainable Development will be making some changes to its process and charges. Please see our revised process and changes document for further information.
Where there is a need to submit information considered ‘personal data’ or ‘sensitive personal data’ under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) this information should be submitted in a separate document without cross-referencing in documents that can be made public, and marked as confidential.
The definition of ‘personal data’ and ‘Sensitive Personal Data’ can be found on page 8 of Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and will include for example personal circumstances and health information.
From 1 January 2019, Cornwall Council will be a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Authority, and any new development determined after this date could be liable to pay a CIL. CIL may also be charged on development approved by way of general consent if it commences after 1 January 2019. Visit www.cornwall.gov.uk/cil now to find out how CIL may affect your development.
From 1 January 2019, we will no longer be writing to contributors individually to notify them if an application is to be considered by a Planning Committee as this information is available on our
website and can be obtained by tracking applications via the online register. We will continue to notify contributors if the Committee decides to hold a formal site meeting or public meeting.
9 out of 10 agents submit applications via iApply or the Planning Portal. If you submit applications via iApply or the Planning Portal your documents automatically drop into our back-office system giving you immediate assurance that the documents have been received. Submitting applications in this way speeds up our processes.
Applications submitted by alternative means such as by email or in hard copy divert resources to other processes that enable the documents to be published on-line, which leads to a delay in those applications being validated.
We would therefore encourage you to continue to submit applications in a way that speeds up the process.