The Planning Applications Committee’s terms of reference are:

 

1.         Subject to officer delegations, the determination of:

·         applications for planning permission;

·         approval of reserved matters;

·         variations of conditions;

·         variations of legal agreements or planning obligations;

·         advertisement consent;

·         listed building or conservation area consent;

·         works affecting trees covered by tree preservation order.

2.         The committee has reserved the following matters to be determined by the Committee:

·         Applications “called-in” by a Councillor, including those in adjacent authorities

Councillors need to explain why a decision by the Committee is required, in consultation with the Planning Manager and Chair.

·         Planning Applications Committee re-referral

When Planning Applications Committee has resolved that a matter should be referred back to the committee.

·         Applications submitted by serving councillors and employees of the Council on Corporate Management Team and any person employed or engaged by Planning and Legal Services or their close family

Applies to applications for planning permission, approval of reserved matters, variations of conditions, variations of legal agreements or planning obligations, advertisement consent, listed building consent, works affecting trees covered by tree preservation order and certificates of existing or proposed lawful use or development made by serving councillors or their close family and any member of the Corporate Management Team and any person employed or engaged by Planning and Legal Services or their close family.

·         Council developments

Power to determine an application for planning permission made by the Council alone or jointly with another person under Section 316 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/1492) (Para 6) and the determination of applications made by the Council for listed building consent.

·         Departures from the Development Plan

Any development which is considered by the Director of Planning, Economy & Public Protection to be a departure from the provisions of the adopted development plan and recommendation is for approval.

·         ‘Major’ Applications within the Borough where the officer recommendation is to grant planning permission

Major development, ie: Building or engineering work involving new development or change of use comprising: (i) residential development of 10 or more dwellings or residential development on an application site of 0.5 ha or more, or (ii) in the case of other development those comprising 1,000 sq. m or more of gross floorspace, or an application site of 1ha or more.

·         Listed building consent

Only when forms part of a proposal that also requires planning permission in any of the above categories.

·         Tree Preservation Orders/Trees in conservation areas

Where an objection to a Tree Preservation Order has been received or where the proposal has been submitted by or on behalf of the Council.

3.         Other decisions to be determined Planning Applications Committee only are: 

·         Additions or removal of properties from the Local List.

·         To serve direct action notices.

·         To approve street names.

4.         Delegations to Officers

a.         The responsibilities for making decisions in respect of the matters within the responsibility of this Committee other than those set out in section 2 and 3 above, are delegated to the officers in the corporate and senior management structure.

b.         An officer can only carry out a responsibility if:

·         they (or an officer who reports to them) have budgetary or management responsibility for it and  

·         the constitution or the law does not require it to be carried out by someone else. 

c.         Officers’ use of delegated powers

·         Officers do not have to use their delegated powers: they can ask the person or body that delegated the power to them to make a decision or refer the matter to the relevant committee.

·         Officers who have had something delegated to them can authorise officers they line manage to do it on their behalf (unless it was delegated on condition that they do it themselves).

·         The Committee can at any time take back responsibilities they have delegated or decide to delegate them on certain conditions.

The full terms of reference can also be found in Section 3 of Part 3 of the Council’s Constitution:

Constitution of the Council - Reading Borough Council

 

Public Speaking at Planning Applications Committee

 

(1)  Public speaking at meetings of the Planning Applications Committee will be allowed in line with the resolutions of Planning Applications Committee on 23 September 1998 and 7 November 2001 (Minutes 55 and 57 refer):

 

In every case where an individual planning application is to be considered by the Planning Applications Committee, the Director of Planning, Economy and Public Protection will:

 

a) Inform by letter all people who have commented on a planning application that the application is to be considered by the Committee, and the date of the Committee meeting, and

b) Send them information on the arrangements for public speaking at Planning Applications Committee;

 

(2)    Any persons receiving the letter referred to in 1(a) above may notify the Director of Planning, Economy and Public Protection that they wish to speak on the application at the Planning Applications Committee meeting, subject to such notification being in writing and being received by the Director of Planning, Economy and Public Protection by 12 noon two days before the Planning Applications Committee meeting (this means that if the Committee meeting is held on a Wednesday, this notification must be received by 12 noon on the preceding Monday)

The local Reading MPs may also give similar notice that he/she wishes to speak on the application at the Planning Applications Committee, subject to the site being within his/her constituency.

 

(3)        Where the Director of Planning, Economy and Public Protection receives a notification under (2) above:

 

a)         S/he will then notify the applicant and agent that other person(s) have given notice that they wish to speak on their application at the meeting.

 

b)         The applicant and agent may notify the Director of Planning, Economy and Public Protection, up to 1:00pm of the day of the meeting, that they also wish to speak on the application.

 

c)         Applicants/agents may only speak on their application if another person has given notice to speak under (2) above; and where they have themselves given notice to speak under 3(b) above.

 

(4)        Public speaking will take place after the introduction of the item by the Chair/officers but before discussion of the item by the Committee.

 

(5)        Public speakers who have given notice will speak first and together will be allowed a maximum of five minutes to address the Committee (unless the Chair of the Committee using his/her discretion, allows a longer period for public speaking), regardless of the number of public speakers, and whether they are objecting or supporting the application.

 

(6)        The Committee may then ask questions of individual public speakers to clarify any points made by them.

 

(7)        The applicant/agent of the application will then be allowed a maximum of five minutes to address the Committee.

 

(8)        The Committee may then ask questions of the applicant/agent to clarify any points made by them.

 

(9)        No members of the public will be allowed to address the Committee unless they have given notice to speak under (2) above or the Chair of the Committee uses his/her discretion to give such permission to speak.

 

(10)      Members of Committee will then debate the proposal and make their decision.

 

(11)      Public speaking may not take place on the same application more than once in any six-month period, unless the Chair of the Committee, using his/her discretion, considers it is appropriate to do so, for example in cases where there has been a significant “material change in circumstances” within the preceding six months.