Current planning applications
The parish council has no planning powers (the planning authority is Rother District Council), but it does have a statutory right to be consulted and there is a statutory period for that of 21 days from the publication of the application to the weekly list sent to parish councils. Indeed, the planning authority seeks comments from the parish council to gauge local feeling.
However, it needs to be remembered that it is Rother’s core strategy (see notes below) which sets the criteria against which all applications are judged and the parish council supports that strategy.
All applications, both current open ones plus many years of history, can be inspected at the Rother planning portal.
Breaches and enforcement
Whenever Rother District Council (the Planning Authority) becomes aware or is made aware of a breach of planning regulations it investigates and, if it thinks there is a case to answer, it creates a Notice of Breach. This might lead to an Enforcement Order or to a No Further Action (not in the public interest) decision. The Parish Council is notified weekly of new notices and updates on existing ones. RDC planning portal does not enable the public to search these (though you can search Planning Appeals) and the Parish Council does not publish them here either. However, they are always reported in full to Parish Council meetings and the minutes are in the public domain and may be inspected here..
Need planning permission?
If you are thinking about carrying out any work on your property, please read these notes on Planning Permission, Listed Building Consent and Tree Felling before starting work.
Our local planning authority is Rother District Council (RDC). The Parish Council does not have any authority to grant planning permission, but it does have a statutory right to be consulted about Planning and Listed Building Consent applications made within the parish. The statutory time limit for responses from the parish council is 21 days, although RDC will often agree to an extension of the time limit.
Planning Permission is required before you build something new, make any major change to a building, change its appearance or change its use. If work is done without permission you risk receiving an enforcement notice from RDC ordering you to reverse the changes that have been made.
Bear in mind that permitted development rights are extremely complex and heavily restricted in our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. RDC’s Planning Handbook is very helpful, as is RDC’s detailed Core Strategy. If you’re not sure whether planning permission is needed, you can submit a planning enquiry to Rother District Council.
Listed Building Consent is required for all proposed changes to listed buildings. The carrying out of unauthorised works on listed buildings is a criminal offence.
Tree Felling requires 6 weeks’ advance notice to be given to Rother District Council, giving the authority time to impose a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) if appropriate. Even where there is no TPO, there are fairly low limits on the amount of timber that may be felled without a licence. It is always best to ask first.