1. Presentation to Members of Crowhurst Parish Council
Charlotte Parker - Planning Applications Manager
April 24th 2017

2. Development Management Team: Who we are and what we do
Team managers
Jan Ward – Business Support Manager
Thomas James (TJ) – Planning Applications Manager
Charlotte Parker (CP) – Planning Applications Manager
Hilary Orr – Enforcement Manager
Planning Case Officers (and whose team they are in)
Chris Hall – Principal Planning Officer – (CP)
Robin Evans – Senior Planning Officer – (TJ)
Holly Burton – Senior Planning Officer (P/T) –
Wayne Spencer – Planning Officer (acting senior planning officer) – (TJ)
Jessica Hampson – Planning Officer – (TJ)
Natalie Rowland – Planning Officer – (CP)
Stephanie Milne – Planning Officer (acting senior planning officer) – (TJ)
Adem Mehmet – Planning Officer – – (TJ)
Jayne Roberts – Technical Support Officer – (CP)
Julie Lunn – Technical Support Officer – (TJ)

3. What is Development ?
Development is defined by law (section 55 of Town and Country Planning Act 1990) as
‘the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land.’
For the purposes of the Act ‘building operations’ include: Demolition of buildings, rebuilding, structural alterations or additions to buildings and ‘other operations normally undertaken by a person carrying on as a builder’.
‘Development’ is therefore wide ranging, and all of it needs planning permission, however not all of it needs express planning permission.
The General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) 2015 sets out what is ‘permitted development’.
Advisable – but not essential – to apply for a Certificate of Lawfulness. Proof when selling property that planning permission was not required.
Legal determination – whether the development meets the relevant requirements of the GPDO. Comments from Parish Council (and others) cannot be taken into account.

4. How are planning decisions reached?
The local planning authority “may grant planning permission, either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as they think fit, or they may refuse planning permission” They “shall have regard to the provisions of the development plan, so far as material to the application, and to any other material considerations” (S70 Town and Country Planning Act 1990) Delegation of decision making to Chief Planning Officer (who delegates most decisions to Planning Applications Managers) Planning Committee – every 3/4 weeks Applications taken at CPO’s discretion or at request of Councillor Approximately 2000 application are determined every year of which about 40 are Planning Committee decisions

5. The ‘Plan-Led’ System
“If regard is to be had to the development plan for the purpose of any determination to be made under the Planning Acts, the determination must be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise” s38(6) Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 “Primacy” of the Development Plan depends on it being: - up to date; and - in accord with national planning policies (NPPF) Development Plan currently comprises: Tandridge District Core Strategy 2008 Tandridge Local Plan: Part 2 Detailed Policies 2014 Woldingham Neighbourhood Plan 2016 “

6. “Material Considerations” and “Weight”
There is a clear distinction between whether something is a MATERIAL CONSIDERATION and the WEIGHT it should be given by the decision maker*
“The former is a question of law. The latter is a question of planning judgment which is entirely a matter for the planning authority [decision maker]. Provided that the planning authority [decision maker] has regard to all material considerations, it is at liberty (within the test of “reasonableness”) to give whatever weight the planning authority [decision maker] thinks fit or no weight at all…”
Lord Hoffmann Tesco Stores Ltd v SSE (1995)
[* “decision maker” may also be the Secretary of State or his Inspectors dealing with appeals against your decision]

7. Types of Material Consideration
DUTIES UNDER OTHER LEGISLATION e.g. Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act, Human Rights, Climate Change Act, European Directives etc
POLICY (not in the Development Plan)
National Planning Policy Framework and National Planning Policy Guidance
Local e.g. Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) eg. Woldingham Character Assessment and Design Guidance
PLANNING HISTORY AND APPEAL DECISIONS (these do not set a precedent)
VIEWS OF CONSULTEES, OBJECTORS/SUPPORTERS
FACTORS SPECIFIC TO THE CASE

8. Some factors ‘on the ground’
Material
Not Material
design and visual impact
privacy/daylight/sunlight
noise, smell, pollution
access/traffic
health/ health and safety
ecology, landscape
crime (and fear of)
economic impact
planning history / related decisions
fallback position e.g. PD
cumulative impact
the applicant
land ownership
private rights (e.g. access)
restrictive covenants
property value
competition
loss of view
“moral” issues
numbers of reps
change from previous scheme

9. Refusals
must be justified by reasons (refer to the Development Plan policies)
reasons must be valid in terms of planning law
must be based on assessment of the material considerations in the case
may be subject to appeal; reasons should be defensible
unreasonable or invalid refusals may result in cost awards against the Council; but considered decisions properly defended will not, even if lost at appeal
only one good reason is sufficient

10. Approvals must be lawful
justification should be clearly minuted if different from officer report/recommendation
usually subject to conditions which must pass the tests in the NPPG (this will be the issue if there is an appeal against any of them).
relevant to planning
relevant to the development
reasonable
necessary
precise
enforceable
the reason for a condition should be specific, if possible relate to a development plan policy and explain clearly and succinctly why condition is being attached (it is also the justification for a Breach of Condition Notice)

11. Permitted Development – Recent Changes
Part of Government’s objective to ‘streamline’ the planning process, by making more types of development permitted development.
Major changes since 2008 (and still changing)
Part 1 = Development within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse (Classes A – H)
Class A – ‘enlargement, improvement or other alteration of a dwellinghouse’
- ‘Larger homes extension’ (8m for detached house, 6m for semi detached) – temporary until
30 May 2019 – notification procedure (applications with /NH suffix)
- Rear and side extensions, ‘principal elevation’, ‘enlarged part’
- Green Belt implications/’fallback’ argument
Classes B and C - alterations/enlargement to the roof, Class E – outbuildings (‘incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse’ )

12. Permitted Development – Recent Changes
Part 3 – Changes of Use (Classes A – V) - some examples: Restaurants, cafes and takeways to retail (Class A) Takeaways or pubs to restaurant or café (Class B) Retail or betting office or pay day loan shop to dwellinghouse (Class M), Office to dwellinghouse (Class O), Agricultural building to dwellinghouse (Class Q), Business use, hotel, residential institution or leisure building to state-funded or registered nursery (Class T). Prior approval generally required (transport and highway impacts, noise impacts, contamination risk, flood risk) Applications with /NC suffix Used as part of ‘fallback’ argument Again, a legal determination – Parish Council and other comments cannot be taken into account

13. Green Belt
National Green Belt policy set out in National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2012.
Reflected in Development Plan Policies (mainly within Local Plan 2014)
Starting point is that all development is inappropriate, unless one of the stated exceptions.
Openness – an absence of development.
NPPF introduced significant changes to policy
‘Previously developed land’ (impact on openness – spread, height, massing)
Extensions to and replacement of ‘buildings’ can be appropriate development (previously this only applied to dwellings)
Test for extensions = are they disproportionate (cumulative with other post 1968 extensions)
Test for replacement buildings = is the proposed building ‘materially larger’ than the building it replaces
In both cases, will be assessed both mathematically and visually

14. Consultation and Parish Council Involvement
Town and Country Planning (General Management Procedure) Order 2015 National requirements for all aspects of procedure, including what should be submitted with applications, publicity and notification. Statutory consultees (eg. Environment Agency, Natural England, Historic England, SCC (highways)) Other advisory consultees – Surrey Wildlife Trust, Historic Buildings Adviser, AONB adviser, Tandridge Access Group Neighbour notification – set out in Development Management Charter Site notices – Major development, listed buildings, conservation areas, TPOs

15. Consultation and Parish Council Involvement
Statutory requirement to notify Parish Councils as set out in Paragraph 8(1) of Schedule 1 of the 1990 Planning Act
Relates only to planning applications and approval of reserved matters under an outline permission, and ‘alterations’ to them accepted by the Council (except where they are considered to be ‘trivial’ in nature).
Once the Parish Council has been notified, the Council cannot make a decision before 21 days has elapsed, unless (a) comments are made within that time or (b) they have been advised by the Parish Council that they do not wish to comment.
Weight given to comments – a material consideration
Section 54 of the 1990 Act ‘Where, in making any determination under the planning Acts, regard is to be had to the development plan, the determination shall be made in accordance with the plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise’