Decision details

Council Procedure Rule 39 - Authority to produce Schemes to Permit Members of the Public to Speak at Meetings of the Local Plan and Planning Committees is delegated to the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Head of Planning Services and the Chairman of the relevant Committee.

Approval of a revised and new Public Speaking Scheme for the Planning Committee, which has been amended to reflect that members of the public attend the meeting to address the Committee speaking in favour or against the application.

A new paragraph was inserted to clarify that indication to speak must be registered with the Committee Services team and not the Chairman of the Committee on site visits.

The scheme previously stated that members of the public could address the Committee on the recommendation as set out in the Report however, it was considered that it is clearer and of more assistance to direct comments to the application. The recommendation can be technical in its nature and for the public are interested in whether the application is approved or refused. Therefore, it was not considered appropriate to leave the Scheme as previously drafted.

There are no financial implications as a result of this decision.

The decision is in accordance with the Constitution and best practice.