Consultation is open to comments
After a local planning authority receives a planning application, it undertakes a period of consultation so that views on the proposed development can be expressed. Anyone can respond to a planning consultation. The formal consultation period will normally last for 21 days. National guidance also says that the time period for making comments will be set out in the publicity accompanying the application.
Find the deadline for the application
The period for making comments is set out in the publicity accompanying the planning application. Check that published period when identifying the applicable deadline.
Submitting before the closing date
National guidance says it is important to make comments before the statutory deadline to ensure they are taken into account. This is why checking the published period matters before sending a response. The guidance distinguishes comments made before the deadline from those made after the closing date, which are subject to the local planning authority’s discretion.
If the closing date has passed
Local planning authorities may, at their discretion, take into account comments made after the closing date, but they have no obligation to do so.
Dorset Council: finding the application record
Dorset Council provides a local example of checking the relevant date. It says the expiry date for public comments varies for each application and can be checked through its online planning application search and comment service. Dorset Council says users need to accept the terms and conditions to enter its online planning register, then enter the application number or address to find the record.
Dorset Council does not respond to individual submissions apart from an automated acknowledgement. It says it will consider comments received during determination of the application.
What taking comments into account means
Planning decisions must follow development-plan policies that are material to the application unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A material planning consideration is one relevant to the planning decision. Planning concerns land use in the public interest: purely private interests such as an effect on a neighbouring property’s value or loss of private rights to light cannot be material considerations. Provided all material considerations are addressed, the decision maker determines the weight given to them in each case.