Who can speak
If matters are referred to Committee the following will be invited to speak in order at the Planning Committee meeting at which a matter is considered:
- Members of the public, or their representatives, who have previously made written representations objecting to or in support of the application;
- Parish, Town or City Councils who have previously made written representations objecting to or in support of the application;
- Members of the Council who are not members of the Planning Committee; and
- The applicant or agent.
Anyone wishing to speak at the Planning Committee meeting about a Planning Application must register their request with Democratic Services by 5pm on the Thursday prior to the relevant Committee meeting. Requests will normally be dealt with on a first come, first served basis.
Details on how to register will be provided in the invitation to speak.
Documentation
The circulation of documentation including photographs or presentation materials will be permitted if submitted to the Planning Service and Democratic Services two working days prior to the Planning Committee meeting. Circulation of such documentation provided less than two working days prior to the Planning Committee(s) will generally not be permissible.
Public Participation
Anyone wishing to raise a question(s) at Public Participation at Planning Committee must register such question(s) two working days in advance in writing, (refer to Council Procedure Rules within Part B of the Constitution) with Democratic Services. The circulation of documentation including photographs or presentation materials will not be permitted at the Planning Committee meeting.
Speaking order and time limits
The order of speaking and time limits for Planning Committee meetings for each application will be as follows:
| Members of the Public or their representatives objecting | Members of the Public or their representatives in support of the application | Parish, Town or City Council(s) | Members of the Council (non-planning committee members) | Applicant or Agent |
| 15 mins, maximum 5 speakers of 3 mins each | 15 mins, maximum 5 speakers of 3 mins each | 3 mins each | 3 mins each | 3 mins each |
Where speaking times are shared, there is an overall time limit of 15 minutes in total, with no one person being allowed to speak for more than 3 minutes. Speakers in the above categories will be encouraged to coordinate with each other so that repetition can be avoided.
Should it not be practical for all those wishing to speak to do so and should the speakers within a category not be able to agree on suitable representatives between them, speaking slots shall be allocated in the order that they registered to speak.
At the Chair’s discretion in consultation with the legal advisor, the time allowed may be increased. A speaker may nominate a single spokesperson to speak on their behalf.
Full details on the Planning Committees and how to register to speak are provided here:
