The main work of the Planning Committee is to comment on local planning applications, submitted to Kirklees Council and the Peak District National Park Authority. The Committee also responds to wider concerns raised by local residents and requests for comment on draft documents, from planning authorities and central government, eg the white paper on 'Planning for the Future' and Supplementary Planning Documents from our two planning authorities.
The need to make timely comments on planning applications means that the Planning Committee has to meet more frequently than other committees, to keep in step with planning authority cycles. The Committee has delegated authority, which allows it to make such comments immediately, without waiting for full Council approval. The Committee brings detailed local knowledge to the consideration of planning applications and an understanding of the need to balance the preservation of the built and natural environment with considerations of economic development.
The Parish Council is not a statutory consultee and can only give a view: planning decisions are made by Kirklees Council or the Peak District National Park Authority. When deciding whether to support or object to a planning application, the Planning Committee can take account only of material planning considerations.
Recently the Planning Committee, in support of the Parish Council's declaration of a Climate Emergency, has adopted the practice of commenting favourably on any applications which seriously address sustainability and to object to any application for larger developments which fail to address the issue fully.
The Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) has now been fully 'made'. It was heavily endorsed by 84.53% of voters at a referendum on 4 November '21. Subsequently, the NDP was formally adopted by Kirklees Council and the Peak District National Park Authority. This means that the NDP has become part of the local planning framework and the Kirklees Development Plan. It is now being used by the Planning Committee to inform its comments on planning applications and planning officers are referring to the NDP when making their decisions. This means that local concerns and the needs of the local community and the environment are fully embedded in the planning process.
More information is available on our Neighbourhood Plan page.