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Who is involved and what do they do?

There are many different organisations, departments, bodies and people involved in the whole planning system. See the sections below to learn more about the role each plays...

The applicant

The applicant is the person or organisation putting forward the proposal, and paying the appropriate fee for example - the homeowner. It is advisable that applicants discuss their ideas informally at an early stage with any neighbours.

The applicant doesn't have to go ahead with the scheme if they don't want to, but if they choose to go ahead it must be in accordance with the planning permission and any conditions added (by us) to the permission. If an application is refused, it is only they who can decide whether to appeal to the planning inspectorate.

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The agent

Is the person or organisation who is employed by the applicant to make the application on their behalf. It is not compulsory to employ an agent and it is quite common for applicants to deal directly with the local authority.

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The Local Authority

Councils have many different names, some more formal than others, including: The Local Planning Authority (LPA), The Council, the Local Authority (LA), Planning Service, Development Control and, more traditionally, the Planning Department.

We as the local authority receive planning applications and add them to a public "register". The full register of applications must be available to the public 24 hours a day online, or at terminals in the local libraries and One Stop Shop. 

We also advertise applications in the Yellow Advertiser. Once we register an application we write to neighbours, statutory consultees and begin to process the application. All in all we send nearly 50,000 letters a year asking for comments.

At Ilford, the Council has "delegated" power to us allowing our teams of planners to decide many applications. Today around 90% of applications are decided this way. If a councillor or planner "calls in" an application it is decided at the next Planning Committee, consisting of elected councillors. In this case councillors make a decision, which may not necessarily agree with the officer's recommendation.

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Central and Regional Government

Very large or controversial applications may occasionally be "called in" so that the First Secretary of State (effectively Department of Communities and Local Government)  can decide them. The Government Offices for the regions may also "recover" an appeal on an issue of particular concern to the Secretary of State, who will then take the decision after considering the Inspector's report.

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Other organisations

Some national bodies with special expertise, such as the Environment Agency and English Heritage, have the right to be consulted about planning applications in certain cases. Local Authorities sometimes consult a local organisation, such as a Civic Society or the Council for the Protection of Rural England, though the council are not obliged to do this by law.

 

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