Comment on planning applications

Due to the volume of correspondence we receive on planning applications, we cannot enter into detailed correspondence or discussions with individual objectors on the points they raise. The council's statutory duty is to take account of comments received within the statutory period. Accordingly, comments should not be in the form of questions but should be clear statements about areas of concern. You may however wish to support or oppose an application on conditional terms.

What personal information will be published about me if I comment?

Anonymous comments will not be accepted, and all comments should therefore include a name and address. Comments cannot be treated as confidential and all representations are published on our website and made available for inspection on request. Please do not include any information that you would not wish to be made public. When comments are published online, contact details and signatures will be redacted. Your name and address will not be redacted.

Please allow 3 working days for an officer to moderate, redact any personal information (for example email and telephone numbers) and upload your comments.

What comments are taken into account?

We welcome any comments, whether in support of an application or objecting to it, but in making a decision we can only take account of material planning considerations; comments should not include:

• your signature
• your contact number
• any information you do not want to publish online
• any information that could compromise the security of yourself, others or any premises (for example information about vulnerable persons, holiday dates or details of when a property is left empty)
• any information of a personal, slanderous, defamatory or otherwise offensive or abusive nature towards the applicant or developer or any other individual (these may result in actions for libel)

If you need to include information that you consider shouldn’t be public, please make sure you highlight this clearly at the beginning of your comment and we will review it before it is published.

Please note: comments or representations published have not been checked for accuracy and are the views only of the author or authors.

What are material planning considerations?

A material consideration is a matter that is relevant in deciding a planning application or on an appeal against a planning decision.

The scope of what can constitute a material consideration is very wide and so the courts often do not indicate what cannot be a material consideration. However, in general they have taken the view that planning is concerned with land use in the public interest, so that the protection of purely private interests such as the impact of a development on the value of a neighbouring property or loss of private rights to light could not be material considerations.

Material considerations can include (but are not limited to):

• overlooking/loss of privacy
• loss of light or overshadowing
• parking
• highway safety
• traffic
• noise
• effect on listed building and conservation area
• layout and density of building
• design, appearance and materials
• government policy
• disabled persons' access
• proposals in the Development Plan
• previous planning decisions (including appeal decisions)
• nature conservation

However, issues such as loss of view, or negative effect on the value of private properties are not material considerations.

You can also submit comments to us by letter or email, contact details for this are below.

Post:

Development Management

West Lindsey District Council

Guildhall

Marshall’s Yard

Gainsborough

Lincolnshire

DN21 2NA



Email: planning.customer.care@west-lindsey.gov.uk

Decision notices

These provide the outcome of a planning application. A copy of the decision notice is sent to the applicant (or their agent if one has been appointed to make the application on someone’s behalf). All decision notices are available online and if you have made comments on an application you can find out the outcome by looking up the application on our planning application search page.

How Planning use your data

If you want to know more about how West Lindsey District Council Planning use your data, what your rights are and how to contact us if you have any concerns, please read our Planning Privacy Notice.