The Development Team is the key vehicle to be used in carrying out the Model Delivery Contract arrangements (please see link to separate advice on this on the right). This process seeks to establish a productive dialogue between the Council and a developer, including the agreement of a programme for both pre-application discussions and also the determination of any subsequent planning application.
In order for the Development Team to work effectively there needs to be a mutual understanding between the Council and developer with regard to the availability of time and other resources and the quality of information submitted.
The Council’s Commitment
If the information submitted is of appropriate quality, the Development Team will normally respond to an enquiry within 35 days of receipt of the full package of appropriate payment (see below), plan(s) and supporting documentation. If this is not possible, a clear timetable will be provided. We aim to provide a written response no later than 14 days following the date of the Development Team's meeting.
On receipt of an acceptable submission the Council is committed to providing a comprehensive and consistent response:
- Indicating the problem areas with any proposal which need to be addressed prior to the submission of a planning application.
- Identifying subject areas where further information may be required, such as Environmental Statements, Transportation Assessments, Ecological Surveys etc.
- Detailing any corporate requirements such as the provision of transportation measures, affordable housing, and community facilities, for example.
- Providing a clear indication of why a proposal might be unacceptable, particularly in relation to current local and national planning policies.
The response letter from the Development Team is intended as the first stage of a dialogue between the Council and a developer that should take place before a planning application is made. Once the comments and any requests for further information made by the Development Team have been taken into account and acted upon, a developer and their agent(s) can then have meetings directly with key members of the Development Team in order to discuss their proposals ‘around the table’. Development Team members will not be available for discussions in advance of the Team's consideration of a scheme.
Types of Proposals and Time Available
Proposals fall into many categories and it is often difficult to define which ones are ‘major’ or ‘significant’. A relatively small proposal in the context of area or floorspace for example can be extremely complex and raise many different issues. It is therefore difficult to put proposals into neat categories.
It is vital that officer time dedicated to this pre-application work is carefully managed in order to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of the process, and to allow as to manage our resources. Late submissions (i.e. less than 21 days in advance of the agreed Development Team meeting) are likely to lead to delays.
Once the Development Team response has been issued, it will be possible to agree a programme for further discussions as part of the Model Delivery Contract arrangements. This will depend on the complexity of the issues involved as well as the quality of the information submitted.
The time available will also be affected by the current workload at the time.
Your Commitment - Information Needed for the Development Team Service
In order to produce the most useful and comprehensive Development Team response it is essential that the submission includes an appropriate level of information. The requirements are deliberately not too prescriptive, in that depending upon the type of proposal, requests for advice can be accepted at an earlier stage in the evolution of a scheme.
When you contact us, we will agree a provisional timetable with you. Your proposals will be allocated to a scheduled Development Team meeting, and you will then be required to provide all the necessary information and documents no later than 21 days prior to the meeting date.
The following is a broad guideline for the type of information that should be submitted as part of a detailed proposal (requests for advice can be accepted with less detail, but the advice will inevitably be less comprehensive as a result):
- A clearly marked location plan at 1:1250 or 1:2500 scale based on an extract from the Ordnance Survey.
- An existing site plan illustrating the siting of any existing buildings and trees (including canopy spreads) both on the site and on adjoining land.
- Supporting plans (to scale), sketches and / or drawings which clearly indicate the nature and scale of the development envisaged. The more information that can be provided at this stage, the more complete the response will be.
- Supporting documentation as necessary to fully explain the nature and context of the development. Examples of this are: overall supporting statement / report; design justification statement; justification for the parking ratio being applied (such as location of supporting services and bus stops); tree report etc.
- Appropriate payment (see below).
An important issue to bear in mind when putting together your submission is that developers and their agents do not attend meetings of the Development Team when proposals are considered for the first time. Therefore, developers should aim to make their submissions self-explanatory, and on initial inspection by the Senior Professional - Major Developments it may be necessary in some cases for additional information or clarification to be requested before the Development Team process can be initiated.
Remember, the more information you are able to provide us with at the pre-application stage, the greater the assistance we can give you.
The required number of copies of submissions will depend on the complexity of the proposal and the number of issues raised, as each member of the Development Team involved in assessing a proposal will be provided with a copy of the submission. However, a minimum of six copies of all plans and supporting information will be needed in order to enable swift and comprehensive circulation to members of the Development Team, plus six sets of documents in PDF format on CD disc. You may be asked to break large electronic documents into more manageable sections.
A fee is charged for the Development Team service. Details of the fee in a particular case can be calculated using the guidelines below, or by contacting us.
Negotiations following the submission of a planning application
A primary objective of providing pre-application advice is to try to overcome any potential reasons for refusing permission.
If an application is submitted without any pre-application discussions, and there are difficulties that are unlikely to be capable of resolution within the statutory time period, then negotiations will not normally be entered into. The decision is likely to be an early refusal.
Our aim is to ensure that you are in a strong position to address all the apparent planning considerations, including the need for any financial contributions or community benefits, prior to the submission of an application.
Where pre-application advice from the Council has identified issues which a developer is unable or unwilling to resolve before the submission of an application, or if an application needs to be amended in the light of unforeseen new information or third party representations arising during the consideration of an application, the Council will need to make a careful judgement whether to continue to negotiate or to determine the application as it stands. Under these circumstances officers will normally only attempt to negotiate amendments to an application where this can be achieved within the statutory time period for determining the application (unless there are very good reasons why a longer period should be given).