Responsible for the preparation of waste and minerals development plans and dealing with waste and minerals applications, and dealing with applications for their own development  – for example, schools and libraries. Where one exists the County Council is also the Highways Authority.

A formal, written, legal document which states the decision made by a planning authority in relationship to an application, usually the result of a planning application including any conditions attached to the permission or in the case of a refusal the detailed reasons for the refusal.

A report accompanying and supporting a planning application to illustrate the process that has led to the development proposal, and to explain and justify the proposal in a structured way.

The legal definition of development is “the carrying out of building, mining, engineering or other operations in, on, under or over land, and the making of any material change in the use of buildings or other land” (Sec 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990), this covers virtually all construction activities and changes of use.

The process whereby a local planning authority determines planning applications. In dealing with planning applications authorities have regard to relevant development plan policies, any local financial considerations and any other material considerations.

development plans

This is a formal notice served by the local planning authority requiring the owner of a property to remedy a breach of planning control, e.g. to demolish an unauthorised building, to require an unauthorised use to cease or to require the conditions on a planning permission to be complied with. It sets out what the alleged breach is, what works are required to remedy the breach as well as the time period within which the works need to be undertaken. An enforcement notice can be appealed up to the day it comes into effect.

Applicants for certain types of development, usually more significant schemes, are required to submit an “environmental statement” accompanying a planning application. This evaluates the likely environmental impacts of the development, together with an assessment of how the severity of the impacts could be reduced.Projects needing environmental impact assessment are listed in Schedule 5 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. In the case of development which is under the relevant EIA threshold, planning authorities are required under article 103 of the 2001 Regulations to request an EIS where it considers that the proposed development is likely to have significant environmental effects.

Exempted development

Regulations made by the government which grants what is effectively a nationwide planning permission for specified minor developments. The full title of the current GPDO is the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (SI 2015/596). At the time of writing one amendment has been made to this Order, but it is possible further amendments may be made to it in future.