Agenda item

Report of the Planning and Development Director.

Members were informed that consultation on the statutory Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) and the non-statutory Developer Engagement Guidance had taken place, and in advance of the formal adoption, developers had been encouraged to meet the requirements in the developer engagement guidance.

An Officer stated that there had been relatively few comments back and most of the comments back were in support of the documents. The development industry, in particular, was very supportive of the principles involved in the guidance and the SCI. Local residents were also supportive. Members were informed that changes had been made to the documents following comments received in the consultation.

The Chairman thanked Officers for their work.

A Member asked for more information on the composition and terms of reference of two of the groups which had made representation - City of London Access Group and the City of London Conservation Area Advisory Committee. An Officer stated an information report would be submitted to the next Committee meeting.

In response to a Member’s question, an Officer stated applications with 10 or more objections were submitted to the Planning Applications Sub-Committee and those with fewer were considered under Delegated Authority. The Officer stated that the Scheme of Delegation had been agreed by the Court of Common Council. There was flexibility within this so if Officers or Members considered it appropriate, a particular application could be considered by the Sub-Committee.

A Member commented that the quality and not just the quantity of objections should be considered. Another Member stated that judgements should be made on the weight of each objection, rather than each objection counting as one.

In response to a Member’s questions about the Bevis Marks Synagogue, an Officer stated that the nature of objections was considered e.g. whether they were material planning considerations. If issues were raised which Officers considered to be of a wider public interest, this would be discussed with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman to decide whether this should be considered by the Planning Applications Sub-Committee. Members were informed that Officers had accepted the comment made by the Synagogue on page 64 of the report that reference to “immediate neighbours” be amended to incorporate people who were affected by an application rather than who may be in immediate physical proximity.

RESOLVED – That the Committee

1. Adopts the revised Statement of Community Involvement and Developer Engagement Guidelines.
2. Receives an information report on the composition and terms of references of the City of London Access Group and the City of London Conservation Area Advisory Committee.