Planning application decision making process

On submission of a planning application, the Council will firstly ensure that it has the correct fee and that it actually needs planning permission and if it is on the correct application form. We will also check that all the required plans have been submitted and the description of the proposal is accurate and succinct. Once all this has been checked as correct, the application can be validated.

The application validation process makes sure that planning applications meet certain legal requirements and that we have enough information to allow us to make an informed and efficient decision on your application. For more information, see the Validation of applications page.

On validation of the application, the case officer will send out an acknowledgement letter which also acts as a receipt for the fee paid and notify all notifiable neighbours, everyone whose property/land is within 20 metres of the application site.

The Council will consult all statutory consultees and other relevant organisations - the Council's Roads Team, Community Councils, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and, if appropriate, will advertise the application in the local newspaper.

The planning officer assigned to the application will visit the site, consider all development plan policies pertaining to the application along with the views of consultees and any written comments submitted by neighbours. In some cases, negotiations may take place between the applicant and the Council in order to address any issues raised during the processing of the application. This may result in the submission of amended plans. If these differ materially from the original proposals, fresh notification of neighbours will be required. Minor changes may not require re-notification.

The case officer or a member of the Technical Team (Applications) Team will be able to keep you informed of the progress of a planning application.

A final decision may be made under delegated powers - as allowed by the Council's Scheme of Delegation, by the Planning Committee or by the Scottish Government. The decision may be to either refuse the application, approve it subject to conditions, or approve it with no conditions. The Council will endeavour to process the majority of applications within 2 calendar months of validation, though large and complex applications will take longer to process. Please note that the time allowed for determining major applications is 4 months.

When making a decision on an application, the Council must firstly consider whether the proposal complies with national planning policies and advice as laid down by the Scottish Government and local policies set out in the Council's own Local Development Plan and National Planning Framework 4. For any application, therefore, it is important to check the current Local Plans in the first instance to see if the site is covered by any particular policies which may have relevance to the proposal. More detailed interpretation of policies in those plans may also be available in supplementary guidance documents that have been produced. The Council will also consider issues of particular relevance to the proposal or site, including, for example:

• The planning history of the site.
• The design of the proposed development and impact on the surrounding area.
• The environmental impact of the proposal.
• The traffic impact of the proposal.
• The impact of the proposal on infrastructure, such as water supply and drainage.
• The views of statutory consultees, such as the roads authority for example.
• The views of neighbours who have submitted written comments, as long as material to the application.

The Council's Scheme of Delegation give powers to officers to approve or refuse 'local development' applications where there are 5 or less comments (including zero), without the need to report to the Planning Committee.

An application may be referred to the Planning Development Management Committee for one of the following reasons, this list shows only some examples:

• Six or more objections received
• Objection received from statutory consultee
• Development plan departure

The Planning Development Management Committee usually sit every month, and applicants will be advised in advance of the date of the meeting during which their particular application will be considered. 

Planning Development Management Committee, Local Review Body and Pre-application Forum meetings are held in the Committee Room 2 in the Town House and the public can attend in person. Members of the public who have submitted timely comments in support or in objection to an application will be given the opportunity to speak at the relevant meeting when that application is considered. The meetings are also streamed live on the Council’s website. Please visit our committee pages for details on Committee dates, minutes and agendas (live stream accessible from the Agenda frontsheet) and our webcast library for weblinks to the recordings.

If an approved development is not lawfully commenced within a certain time period the consent for that development will lapse. A fresh application will have to be submitted to the Council for the development:

• Generally, applications granted Planning Permission in Principle (PPP) will lapse after three years, unless an application for the detailed scheme dealing with the conditions as set out in the decision document has been submitted to the Council for approval within that time. If the development has not started within 2 years of the approval of any conditions attached to the PPP consent, the consent will lapse.
  N.B. The planning authority may change the time period by means of planning condition where they see fit
• For applications approved in Full such as householder applications, the development must commence within 3 years of the date of consent or the consent will lapse

Conditions

It is important to note that, many applications are granted consent subject to conditions requiring certain works to be carried out, or details approved, before work starts. Work cannot lawfully commence until those conditions are complied with.

Appeals

If you want to appeal a decision made on an application more details can be found at Planning application appeals

If you have any questions about the process, please contact us. If your query relates to a particular application or enquiry, please contact the case officer handling that application or enquiry.

This involves submitting a notice to the planning authority 12 weeks ahead of an application. The notice states what sort of consultation will be undertaken and must be agreed with the planning authority.