Planning Lead

The Planning Lead, currently Chris Dorn,  is the focus for planning related matters on the Parish Council, but all decisions are taken by the complete Council. The Planning Lead collects and collates information on planning applications within the Parish and presents it to the Council, usually with a recommendation. It’s important that we base our comments on "policy" which encompasses national, county, district (Local Development Framework - LDF) and Parish including our Conservation Area Statement.

It’s important to note that the Parish Council has no executive powers related to planning and is a "statutory consultee" only - which means we have to be asked, but our opinion is one of many and may be over-ridden.

The Parish Council is consulted on:-
· All Planning applications within the Parish Boundary
· Significant or unusual applications in adjacent parishes
· Significant planning related matters put out to consultation by Hart District Council and Hampshire County Council
· Some national policy developments (normally via HALC or similar bodies)

If there's a planning application that affects you or you wish to express your views to the Parish Council it's important to do this early, as the Hart planning cycle is quite short and we need to respond quickly to meet that cycle. Parishioners can send letters or an e-mail via the Clerk, or request to speak under "Public Participation" (3 minutes to support or oppose an application) but if there's is a group you will need to agree a spokesperson, otherwise its first-come, first-served. More details on this process are available under our Standing Orders. Please note that we don't pass comments onto Hart, so you may wish to submit a separate comment via their planning portal, here.

Occasionally, applications are taken to appeal by the applicants and the Parish Council may make additional submissions to the Planning Inspector.

While the Planning Lead can provide modest and informal guidance on applications, this is without prejudice to the eventual consideration of detailed plans. However, Parish Council members are NOT experts on planning policy and law and will generally refer enquiries to Hart Planning Department. Similarly, the Parish Council is not an “enforcement” authority and will only make minor local investigations prior to referring enforcement matters to Hart.

The development of the Crondall Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Proposals were also assisted by the Planning Lead. This was subject to extensive modification and update in 2010, with Hart’s Conservation Section (part of Planning Services Department) and an independent expert consultancy “The Conservation Studio”. The resulting updated Conservation Area Statement was adopted by Hart on 1 July 2010.