The ability to negotiate amendments, clarify issues and provide additional information during the course of a planning application is an important part of the planning process and can contribute to delivering sustainable, high quality development.
However the ability to negotiate during the course of an application should not be relied upon as means to resolve issues which could and should have been addressed prior to submission. It is also not an opportunity to enter into protracted discussions about whether a proposal which is unacceptable as submitted can be made acceptable.
Instead the Council’s preference, as reinforced by Government policy and guidance, is for negotiations to take place prior to the submission of application using the Council’s pre-application service.
The Council has produced a Negotiating Submitted Applications Protocol to provide clarity and consistency regarding how and when it will negotiate on submitted planning applications.