Planning
Waverley Borough Council (WBC) are the planning authority covering Churt. Planning applications are submitted to WBC and they determine the outcome. Immediate neighbours are notified of submitted planning applications, as are the Parish Council. Planning applications are available to the public on the Planning page of the WBC website where weekly lists of applications and weekly lists of decisions are available to the public to view. Members of the public may comment on individual planning applications. Link to the Waverley website page with details of how to comment on planning applications, including definition of what are material planning considerations.
Evaluation of planning applications is governed by the National Planning Policy Framework and by the Waverley Local Plan.
The Role of the Parish Council
The role of the Parish Council (PC) in reviewing planning applications is to represent local views and should: -
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provide local knowledge
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raise areas of concern
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inform, debate, and add value to the process
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contact and involve Borough and District Councillors if required.
Parish Councils (PC) are statutory consultees in the planning process, but can only comment on planning applications in the same way as any member of the public. Any comments by the PC must be agreed during a public council meeting. Members of the public attending the meeting can comment, speak in support of or object to any application during the ‘Open Forum’ segment of the meeting, but not during the council’s deliberations later. Comments agreed in the council meeting are submitted to WBC. Prior to the meeting, members of Churt Parish Council Planning Sub-committee study the detail of the application and can request the views of the statutory bodies e.g., Natural England, Surrey Hills National Landscape, Environment Agency, Highway Authority, etc.
The PC is only a consultee and counts as one opinion. It can seek the views of residents of the Parish, particularly in controversial cases, and will reflect such local feeling during the deliberation process. However, should there be widespread objection, or support, for a proposal, the PC will always suggest that members of the public should send their own comments directly to the planning authority. The PC’s comments in response to a planning application can only be based on genuine material planning considerations. The local planning authority will consider the representations of the PC, but In reaching a decision, the local planning authority is required to weigh up all issues associated with an application.
The Parish Council may make recommendations for planning conditions to be added in the case that the local authority grants approval, but such conditions will only be imposed by the local authority where they are necessary, relevant to planning and to the development, enforceable, precise and reasonable.