Monday 16 March 2009

Material Considerations for Planning Applications

If you wish to object to a Planning Application it is important to know the reasons by which an officer can refuse an application. These are called ‘Material Considerations’ and are as follows:

Material considerations:
  • Previous planning decisions (including appeal decisions)
  • Proposals/policies in the development plan
  • National guidance
  • Loss of light/overshadowing
  • Loss of privacy to a room through distance
  • Visual amenity
  • Adequacy of parking/loading/turning
  • Highway safety, road layout/access
  • Noise and disturbance resulting from use
  • Hazardous materials
  • Traffic generation
  • Odours
  • Loss of trees/green space
  • Landscaping
  • Impact upon a listed building or a conservation area
  • Design, appearance and materials
  • Disabled access
  • Nature conservation
  • Archaeology

Many people object for the reasons outlined below, which are not material considerations; these cannot be taken into account by the planning officer when considering an application.

Non-material considerations

  • Loss in property value
  • Loss of a private view
  • Private disputes between neighbours e.g. land ownership
  • Restrictive covenants
  • Fence lines/boundary positions
  • Personal morals or views about the application
  • Ownership disputes
  • Applicant’s motives
  • Competition
  • Issues covered by other legislation e.g. Highways Act
  • Number of objections

It is possible that even if one of the objections made on the grounds of a material consideration is upheld, it will not prevent the proposed development going ahead, but rather a condition will be imposed on the application which must be fulfilled.

Conditions could include things such as stipulating the materials the work has to be made from, the height of the development, or in the case of a business that it can only operate between certain hours in order to control traffic and noise. With a Listed Building it is likely there will be a large number of conditions associated with the development to preserve the character of the development.

Sharrow Community Forum jmu March 2009

p.s this is as far as I understand it- anyone with more knowledge, please feel free to correct this!

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