The Regulatory Committee has responsibility for the efficient processing of planning applications, building regulations and related enforcement activities within the policies determined by the Council and Cabinet as appropriate. The Committee will ensure that a quality service is provided through its monitoring role.

How can I participate?

If you wish to speak about a planning application, you must notify the Committee Support Officer, by 5pm on the working day before the day of the Regulatory Committee meeting.

The Allocation of Planning and Related Applications to Committees

All planning or related applications or enforcement cases will be dealt with by the relevant Regional Planning Committee except for those in the following categories, which will be dealt with by the Regulatory Committee:-

(i) Any case where a member of the Council has notified the Chief Planning Officer within 21 days of the inclusion of the case in the weekly “yellow list” of planning applications received that the case should be referred to the Regulatory Committee and not be considered by the relevant Regional Planning Committee. [link to Regional Planning Committee Page] When calling in a planning application in this way, a Member should state in writing the rationale for doing so, e.g. that the application is of strategic significance or affects an extensive area beyond a single Area Committee’s interest;

(ii) Development of more than 25 dwellings;

(iii) Development of dwellings on a site of 1 hectare or more;

(iv) Development of five or more dwellings where a density of more than 200 habitable rooms per hectare is proposed;

(v) Mixed or non-residential development with a total floor space of 1,000 sq. m. or more;

(vi) Development including any building more than 15 metres high;

(vii) Alteration of an existing building to increase the height to more than 15 metres;

(viii) Quarrying and mining operations;

(ix) Waste development;

(x) Development to provide:

(a) an aircraft runway;

(b) a heliport (including a floating heliport or a helipad on a building);

(c) an air passenger terminal at an airport;

(d) a railway station;

(e) a tramway, an underground, surface or elevated Railway, or a cable car;

(f) a bus or coach station;

(g) an installation for a use within Class B8 (Storage or distribution) of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order (where the development would occupy more than 4 hectares).

(xi) Development to alter an air passenger terminal to increase its capacity by more than 500,000 passengers per year

(xii) Development which is likely to:

(a) result in the loss of more than 200 houses, flats, or houses and flats (irrespective of whether the development would entail also the provision of new houses or flats); or

(b) prejudice the residential use of land, which exceeds 4 hectares and is used for residential use.

(xiii) Development

(a) Which occupies more than 4 hectares of land which is used for a use within Class B1 (business), B2 (general industrial) or B8 (storage or distribution) of the Use Classes Order, and

(b) Which is likely to prejudice the use of that land for any such use.

(xiv) Development which is likely to prejudice the use as a playing field of more than 2 hectares of land which:

(a) Is used as a playing field at the time the relevant application for planning permission is made, or

(b) Has at any time in the five years before the making of the application been used as a playing field.

(xv) Development:

(a) On land allocated as Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land in the Unitary Development Plan, in proposals for such a plan, or in proposals for the alteration or replacement of such a plan; and

(b) Which would involve the construction of a building with a floor space of more than 1,000 square metres or a material change in the use of such a building.

(xvi) Development which does not accord with one or more provisions of the Unitary Development Plan in force at the time, and

(a) Comprises or includes the provision of more than 2,500 sq.m of floor space for a use falling within any of the following Classes in the use classes Order:

• class A1 (retail)
• class A2 (financial and professional)
• class A3 (food and drink)
• class B1 (business)
• class B2 (general industrial)
• class B8 (storage and distribution)
• class C1 (hotels)
• class C2 (residential institutions)
• class D1 (non-residential institutions)
• class D2 (assembly and leisure)

Or

(b) Comprises or includes the provision of more than 150 houses or flats or houses and flats.

(xvii) Development for a use, other than residential use, which includes the provision of more than 200 car parking spaces in connection with that use;

(xviii) Any planning application where a Section 106 agreement is either proposed as a part of the application or included as part of an officer recommendation to grant permission;

(xix) Any planning application initially considered by an Area Committee, where the Area Committee is minded to require a Section 106 Agreement as part of the granting of planning permission;

(xx) Any Planning Application submitted by or on behalf of a Member of the Council;

(xxi) Any Planning Application submitted by or on behalf of a political party or related organisation;

(xxii) Any Planning Application which has been referred to the Regulatory Committee by a Regional Planning Committee on the grounds that the Regional Planning Committee concerned has concluded that it would be inappropriate for it to determine the application itself and where the Regional Planning Committee has stated its reasons for reaching that conclusion.