All planning applications carry with them the duty to notify the owners and occupants of neighbouring properties. In general terms, "neighbours" are persons having an interest in land within 20 metres of the application site boundary. Neighbour notification advises of the submission of an application, where to inspect its details and how to make comment. You do not have to be neighbour notified to comment on a proposal. Certain types of application are placed in the "public notices" section of a local newspaper, giving the same information. If you receive a 'notice to neighbours' on a standard form from the council, it will tell you that an application has been submitted. A site plan will also be included showing the location of the proposal. If you are in doubt you should contact Development Management at Aurora House, Clydebank.
Neighbours are not provided with a full set of the plans submitted, and it is therefore necessary to inspect the application in order to be clear about the exact nature and extent of the proposal.
Anyone can comment on an application. Comments on applications can be made using the Council's online planning register. First find the application in question and then select the 'Make a Comment on this Application' option at the top of the page. Alternatively you can Contact Us.
The Council should receive your comments during the published consultation period or they could be too late to be considered. The consultation deadline will be specified in the neighbour notification or the press advert. Contact the Case Officer for advice if you are unable to comment within the time specified. For applications going to Planning Committee, representations should be received 21 days before the Committee date, or they may not be included in the officer's report. Late representations will be reported to the Committee verbally but it is at the Committee's discretion whether or not they will be considered.
Before submitting any comments on a planning application it is recommended that you read the guidance below on how to comment and in particular the section on Planning Matters. This section provides some examples of issues which are deemed relevant and should be given consideration during the processing of a planning application and other examples we cannot consider. Please note that any comments/representations made by you will be available for public inspection and will be published on the on-line register.
We can only consider planning matters in dealing with an application, such as:
we cannot consider:
All objections and comments will be acknowledged. If the application is determined by the planning committee, objectors and the applicant are advised of the intended committee date and who to contact if they wish to address committee and the procedure to enable you to take part in the hearing, should you wish. (The hearing procedure allows objectors and applicants to speak directly to the committee deciding the application). If the date of the hearing is altered, you will be informed of the revised date.
In all cases the content of representations will be summarised in a committee Report and presented to the Committee making the decision. The Planning Committee takes into account all representations when determining an application; however these will be one of a number of factors which will influence the eventual decision. The author and content of any objection or comment cannot be withheld from the applicant. A copy of all comments or representation will be kept on file and can be made available to the public under a Freedom of Information request.
Although we will take into account all of the letters received, due to staff resources and the volume of letters, it is not always possible to respond individually to queries raised or meet interested parties. All those who made a representation to the application will be advised of the decision made on an application.