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7. NEIGHBOUR NOTIFICATION AND PUBLICITY FOR APPLICATIONS
7.1 Neighbour notification is the formal means by which local people with an interest in land or property are directly notified of a planning application relating to a neighbouring site. Other methods of notifying local people, such as placing an advert in a local newspaper or the use of site notices, may also be appropriate where an application is likely to be of wider interest. Regulation 22 sets out the requirements in relation to neighbour notification.
7.2 As part of the package of proposals aimed at making the planning system more inclusive, 'Your Place, Your Plan' confirmed the Scottish Government's decisions both to transfer responsibility for notifying neighbours about a planning application from the applicant to the planning authority and to increase the period for individuals to make representations from 14 to 21 days. In addition, we are proposing that more information about planning proposals and planning procedures should be made available to neighbours. In drafting these new regulations the opportunity has also been taken to simplify the definition of 'neighbouring land' (regulation 2).
7.3 In future, as well as applications for planning permission, neighbour notification requirements will apply to applications for approval of matters specified in conditions relating to planning permission in principle (see Part 4).
7.4 The draft regulations aim to strike a balance between ensuring the public has confidence in the notification system and streamlining aspects of the process to make it less complicated.
Neighbour notification
Who will be notified?
7.5 Currently, the GDPO requires that neighbours to be notified should include both owners and occupiers of neighbouring land for domestic property and for a non-domestic property, the owners, occupiers and lessees. For non-domestic property, notices must be sent to named individuals at the address entered in the valuation roll, where these details are available. For domestic property, or where information on named individuals is not available, notification may be sent addressed to 'the owner' and 'the occupier' at the address of the neighbouring land and to the 'lessee' as appropriate. In contrast to existing provisions and to minimise delays and costs associated with identifying named individuals and in the service of separate notices, the draft regulations propose that a single notice is sent addressed to the "the Owner, Lessee or Occupier" at the address of the neighbouring land. Where it is not possible for the authority to carry out neighbour notification because there are no premises on the neighbouring land to which the notification can be sent, the planning authority must place a notice in the local newspaper (see paragraphs 7.10 - 7.11 below.)
7.6 The planning authority will have to notify neighbours within 5 working days of the validation date (regulation 17), providing them with information on the application, where plans and supporting documents can be viewed and the date by which representations may be made to the planning authority. As indicated above, the minimum period for representations is being extended from 14 to 21 days from the date the notice is served. For the purposes of notifying neighbours the use of First or Second Class post is considered appropriate.
Q27: Do you consider the proposals on service of notice to neighbours to be appropriate?
Q28: Do you agree that, in order to minimise costs and potential delay, a single notice sent to the address of the neighbouring land is sufficient for these purposes?
7.7 In relation to applications for approval of matters specified in conditions attached to a planning permission in principle (regulation 14), regulation 22 contains a requirement to notify those who made representations on the application for planning permission in principle. As well as improving public involvement generally, one of the reasons for this change is that applications under regulation 14 are not subject to the enhanced scrutiny provisions. Therefore, it is important that using applications for PPP is not seen as a way of avoiding public involvement.
Q29: Is the proposed approach to keeping people informed of PPP and approval of matters specified in conditions appropriate?
Definition of neighbouring land
7.8 It is accepted that the current definition of neighbouring land is complex and difficult to understand. With responsibility for notification transferring from applicant to planning authority, we also wanted to simplify the definition so that it would better allow authorities to use Information Technology to identify the neighbours who should be notified. Consequently, the draft regulations propose the following definition for neighbouring land:
- 'land which is conterminous with or within 20 metres of the boundary of land for which the development is proposed.'
7.9 This definition is similar to that proposed by the draft Development Planning Regulations to ensure consistency. Planning authorities will also be encouraged - through guidance - to issue notices to any other such land as they consider appropriate, taking account of local circumstances and the nature of the individual application concerned.
Q30: Do you support the proposed definition of neighbouring land?
Advertising and site notices
7.10 In addition to neighbour notification, or in instances where direct notification of individuals is not possible, a notice in the local newspaper can be a useful means of informing the local community about a planning application. In certain circumstances, we consider that local advertisement is more appropriate, including the following:
- Where it is not possible for the authority to carry out neighbour or owner notification because there are no premises to which the notification can be sent;
- Bad neighbour development (as listed in schedule 7); and
- Development contrary to the development plan.
7.11 Regulation 23 includes requirements for advertising in these cases, as well as for minerals applications (proposals for underground working) which were already listed in this context in the GDPO. The requirements around advertising of development plan departures come into the DMR from a direction (currently the Town and Country Planning (Development Contrary to Development Plans) (Scotland) Direction 1996), to bring the requirements into one place. In future, planning authorities will be able to recover the costs of advertising for all these cases, as they can currently in relation to bad neighbour developments, cases where neighbour notification cannot be carried out (see also paragraph 7.16 below) and minerals applications.
7.12 Provision concerning the advertisement of EIA applications is also made in the EIA Regulations, as amended, which we intend to retain subject to any consequential changes (eg. in transferring responsibility for notification from the applicant to the planning authority).
7.13 Site notices can also be a useful means of informing communities about local planning applications. However, we believe that the planning authority is best placed to determine which applications would benefit from a notice being placed in the vicinity of the site of the proposed development and do not therefore propose to make any specific statutory provision in this respect. Authorities will nevertheless be encouraged through guidance to consider whether the use of site notices would be appropriate based on the circumstances of each case. These are intended to supplement rather than replace statutory methods of publicising planning proposals such as neighbour notification and advertising.
7.14 Regulation 23(6) indicates a time limit for advertising applications with reference to the date when a valid application is submitted. This does not apply to advertising applications as development plan departures in recognition of the fact that it may not be readily identifiable at the outset whether a proposal constitutes a departure form the development plan.
7.15 Clearly, as far as possible, planning authorities should seek to coordinate the timing of any advertising and neighbour notification to minimise any confusion over the time limit for making representations.
Q31: Do you consider the proposals concerning the use of site notices and of local advertisements to be appropriate?
The cost of neighbour notification and advertising
7.16 In transferring responsibility for neighbour notification from the applicant to planning authorities, the White Paper has previously acknowledged the need to increase planning fees to cover the higher costs this transfer will impose on planning authorities. Where the regulations include a requirement for planning authorities to advertise in a local newspaper we consider that authority should be able to recover costs from the applicant and will include provision to this effect. Research on planning fees is currently underway.
Notices to owners and agricultural tenants
7.17 Regulation 18 contains requirements on applicants to certify who owns the proposal site and whether there are any agricultural tenants on said land. It also requires the applicant to notify these parties when a planning application is made. These requirements are along similar lines to those currently contained in the GDPO. However, the DMR recognise that at the time that the applicant notifies these parties, at or before submission of the application, the application papers will not be publicly available for inspection. Consequently, the new notices to be served at this juncture simply indicate that an application has been submitted for the development described, at the location described to the named planning authority and that an opportunity for comments to be made to the planning authority will be available once the planning application papers are ready for public inspection.
7.18 When the planning authority carry out neighbour notification, once the application is validated, they will also be obliged to notify those parties that the applicant has identified as owners and agricultural tenants, providing information on the proposal, where further information can be inspected and the time period within which comments may be made to the planning authority.
7.19 Where an applicant is unable to identify some or all of the owners and agricultural tenants, they will not be required to place a local advertisement, which they are required to do at present. Again, an advertisement at this juncture could do little more than indicate a planning application had been made for a particular development at a particular location. However, the planning authority will be required to place an advert in such cases after a valid application is received, indicating where information can be inspected and the time period for comments etc. The cost of this advertising will be recoverable from the applicant. Where there is a requirement to carry out local advertising for one or more of the reasons set out in regulation 23, then only one advert will be required.
Q32: Do respondents support the proposed requirements on notifying owners and agricultural tenants and the placing of local advertisements in this regard?
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