Planning Committee meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month.

All councillors on the Planning Committee receive training in planning, and the chairperson and vice chair are appointed annually by the committee. The committee receives advice from council officers, in particular in relation to planning and legal matters. The applications which are presented to the planning committee are normally larger and more significant applications that raise a number of planning issues. Most applications would be determined by officers via the delegation scheme.

When applications need to go to Planning Committee, officers write a report and recommendation that is presented to the Committee. Public speaking at Committee is allowed strictly in accordance with the public speaking protocol. People who wish to make representations during the committee meeting need to request this with Democratic services within the time scales outlined in the protocol.

After the presentation and the public speaking, Committee members will discuss the merits of the application, requesting additional information from the Planning Officers as required.

The committee will make a decision on the application based on the officers’ recommendations, the substance of the discussion and any other information received during the committee debate. This decision is reached either unanimously, or, where opinion is divided, by a show of hands.

If Planning Committee do not agree with the recommendations of Planning officers, the application will be deferred to the following Planning Committee meeting, to allow Committee Members to consider their reasons for refusal.