Public Speaking at the Planning and Highways Regulatory Committee
Public Participation
Members of the public are permitted to make an oral presentation to the Planning and Highways Regulatory Committee to oppose, support or comment on any planning application. Where oral objections are to be raised, the applicant has a right to respond. Any presentations should be limited to land use planning considerations. Members of the Planning Service will be happy to give guidance in this respect.
Notice of the wish to speak at Committee must be registered with Democratic Services in writing, via e-mail or by telephone before Noon on the Thursday before the Planning and Highways Regulatory Committee meets.
It is the responsibility of the person wishing to speak, or the applicant, to find out the date the Committee is to consider the application. The Planning Service can provide this information. Late requests to speak at the Committee will not be considered.
Any request to speak must include the person's name, address and contact telephone number, together with details of the application they wish to comment on. If possible, a brief summary of your views would be helpful at this stage.
Applicants or supporters are only able to address Committee if objectors have requested to speak.
Minimal supporting information can be displayed, although it should be remembered that the system is essentially aimed at providing an opportunity to make an oral representation to the Committee Members."
Persons intending to speak should submit copies of any letters/photographs/plans etc to Democratic Services at the time they register. Due to the cost and staffing implications it will not be possible to provide photocopying facilities. It is unreasonable to expect Members to absorb large amounts of written material whilst attempting to listen to any presentation and therefore the production of lengthy handouts and other material is not acceptable.
The Council will endeavour to advise applicants, or their agents, when a request has been received on their application. However, the final responsibility rests with the applicant to find out if such a request has been made. Democratic Services can be contacted after Noon on the Thursday before Committee meets for this information.
Meetings will commence at 10.30 am, at Lancaster Town Hall. Those applications to be the subject of public speaking will normally be taken at the beginning of the meeting, although the final decision on the order of the Agenda rests with the Chairman. The remainder of the Agenda will be considered once the above applications have been determined. There will be a break for lunch as close to 12.30 pm as possible, with the meeting continuing at approximately 1.00 pm if necessary.
Persons who have notified their intention to speak should arrive at Lancaster Town Hall 30 minutes before the start of the meeting to enable attendance details to be taken. Any latecomers who have not confirmed their intention to speak on the morning of the meeting will only be allowed to speak at the discretion of the Chairman.
Any speaker will be limited to a maximum of 3 minutes. The Senior Solicitor will give notification at 2½ minutes that the 3 minutes is drawing to a close. Whilst there will be no limit on the number of speakers, any group of persons with similar views should elect a spokesperson to speak on their behalf to avoid undue repetition of similar points. Spokespersons should identify in writing on whose behalf they are speaking as part of the registration process.
For each application, the order of speaking will be as follows:
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Introduction by the Planning Officer
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Public Speaker's representations
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The applicant or their agent's representations
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Ward Councillor's comments
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Presentation by the Planning Officer
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Members' questions and debate
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Voting
followed by the Committee's discussions and decision.
There shall be no discussion or cross-examination of the presenter by Members or Officers and vice versa. The Chairman may ask questions of the speaker only in order to clarify the issues referred to. Other Committee Members will not speak until all presentations on a particular application have been made.
There will be no adjournment or deferment of an application should any registered speaker fail to attend or not be present at the time the application is dealt with. Any person who is registered to speak but has to leave the meeting early can, as an alternative, present their views on paper to be presented to and read out by the Chairman.
Where an application is deferred, eg for a Committee site visit, anyone who has spoken on the application will not be permitted to speak again unless the application has been significantly amended. Where there has been such an amendment, any further opportunity to speak shall be limited to the amended detail, and not to the application generally.
Register to speak by contacting Democratic Services:
Democratic Services
Town Hall
Dalton Square
Lancaster
LA1 1PJ
Telephone: (01524) 582903
Email: publicspeaking@lancaster.gov.uk
Planning Advice Team:
Tel: (01524) 582950
Email: developmentcontrol@lancaster.gov.uk