GENERAL

The Planning Committee is usually appointed at the AGM in May and sits for the following 12 months, however this year because of the lockdown restrictions the Committee were not appointed until the Full Council meeting on June 22nd. Meetings usually take place on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month and take place in the Parish Office unless they are immediately prior to a Full Council meeting, in which case they meet wherever the Full Council is meeting. The meetings usually start at 7:00pm, but if there are no planning applications to consider then the meeting will usually be cancelled.

The Planning Committee has between 5 and 7 members and needs at least 3 members present to be quorate. In some areas it has the power to make decisions on behalf of the Council and in others it can only make recommendations. This is detailed in the Terms of Reference. The Committee reports to Full Council which considers the recommendations of the Committee and notes its decisions. The Chair of the Committee also sits on the Human Resources Committee.

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Responsibilities include: 

•    Responding to planning applications on behalf of the Parish Council.
•    Responding to planning consultations on behalf of the Parish Council.
•    Responding to Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs).
•    Responding to road name consultations.
•    Oversight and monitoring of local major developments.

It is important to note that Bishopstoke Parish Council has no power to approve or reject planning applications. The Council is notified of every planning application in Bishopstoke so that it can make comments, and indicate whether it has any serious objections to a particular application, but these comments only form part of the Borough Council's decision making process, which is far more reliant on the recommendations of its Planning Officers.

PLANNING COMMITTEE