The planning system regulates certain types of developments such as new buildings, demolition of existing buildings and other structures like signs, and changes of the use of buildings. In Coventry our local planning authority is Coventry City Council.

There are dozens of planning applications each month in Coventry and the Coventry Society only gets involved in one or two of the most significant ones.

The planning system has changed in England. The new system is less concerned with the uses that buildings are put to and more concerned with issues like the design of new developments. The Government says it wants the new system to deliver quality development. The new system also requires community involvement in planning and early “pre-application” consultation.

One of the ways to find out about the planning system is through the Planning Portal.

It is important to understand that the planning system is not simply about elected politicians sitting on the Planning Committee making decisions according to their consciences and the wishes of the voters. Planning decisions have to follow planning policy. This means:

• if you care about your neighbourhood, and Coventry in general, you should look out for opportunities to influence planning policy.
• if you want to comment on a planning application you should read the relevant policies and try to support your arguments by referring to policy.

There are three levels of planning policy:

National

Regional

Local

Over the next few months and years these documents will be replaced by the documents which will form the new Local Development Framework. Watch this website and the City Council’s planning pages for more details

One of the most significant documents in the new system will be the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). This is in effect a ‘bill of rights’ setting out how you should be consulted on planning policy and planning applications. Read and download Coventry's SCI here.

If you are concerned about a proposed development in your area you should try to make contact with the developer or landowner. Talking to them at an early stage can be helpful in resolving any differences before the proposal gets into the planning system. But it is important to make your comments constructive and see their point of view as well.

Under the Statement of Community Involvement (see above) developers should be strongly encouraged to undertake pre-application consultation. If you feel this has not happened you should speak to the planning department. Also let the Coventry Society know as we will be monitoring the implementation of the SCI.

Information on planning applications can be found on the City Council web-site. You can search online here.

or look at weekly lists here.

If you want to be emailed or posted the weekly lists contact Chris Dowell.

Once you have identified a planning application and have its reference number you can inspect the plans and other documents online using the search facility above, or visit the Planning Advice Desk at Civic Centre 4 (the Tower Block), Little Park Street.

Once a planning application has been submitted you will have a limited time to comment or object to it. A good source of advice and help for local residents and community groups is Planning Aid West Midlands. Contacts can be found here.

The City Council has also produced some helpful web pages with information on how to comment on planning applications here.

Agendas and minutes of the Coventry City Council Planning Committee can be found here.

In England and Wales it is not possible for a third party to appeal against a local planning authority's decision.

For example, if your neighbour was granted permission to build an extension you could not appeal against it - even if you objected to the application at an earlier stage of the process.

Your only recourse in these circumstances are:
‘Calling in’
Asking for the planning application to be ‘called in’ by the Government. This only happens on major applications. See the relevant pages on the Planning Inspectorate web site for details.

Judicial Review
A judicial review of the planning decision: again a serious and potentially costly business. A helpful guide to judicial reviews in planning has been provided by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England.

Complaint to the Ombudsman
In some cases, complaints about how a local planning authority handled a planning application can be referred to the  Local Government Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman has no power to alter the decision, even if the planning authority are found guilty of maladministration.
However, in cases where the Ombudsman adjudicates that the local authority has acted incorrectly in handling a planning matter, the Ombudsman can order the authority to pay damages to the complainants.

Talk to the developer
If you are unhappy over a matter of detail on a major application it still might be worth trying to persuade the developer to your point of view. On major applications there are often requests for variations or revised applications submitted and the change you want might be included if you can get the developer to agree.