It's All In The Plan
'Bill Posters will be prosecuted' ...after which some wag has usually scrawled, 'when we can find him'. Thankfully, the Thames Ditton and Weston Green area is relatively free from fly posters but we will all be familiar with those little yellow notices telling us that a planning application has been submitted, that plans can be viewed at the Council Offices in Esher and that representations must be made before a certain date. Over the last few years these notices have seemingly become more common than estate agents' boards. With property values at today's levels it is hardly surprising that many of us are keen to improve our homes.
For those who live within the designated conservation areas in Thames Ditton and Weston Green there is a requirement to apply for planning permission even where changes proposed are cosmetic. These applications along with those for modest extensions and alterations to properties form the vast majority of those submitted from our wards to Elmbridge Council. Nearly all of them, if they be not too un-neighbourly, go through the approval process without much difficulty. There are also ever more applications for new developments or large conversions. Developers are attracted to our area, where houses and flats are easy to sell. Whereas building costs do not vary much throughout the shires, the profits here are high. While the process of regeneration is one that every area in the country needs however historic the local environment, property development is a commercial process and the over-riding priority behind these projects is to make their proprietors a substantial profit without a thought for the amenities and residents of Thames Ditton or Weston Green. Naturally there are those who will shout 'Nimby' at anyone who resists a development that will impact on them directly, but the process by which planning applications are considered and adjudicated on simply does not allow this kind of spin to enter into the equation.
My own involvement with the planning process came about as a result of an application that was submitted in 2004 for a development on land between Station and Ashley Roads. The application proposed up to 13 houses and flats and most of the development site was within the Thames Ditton Conservation Area. Local opinion was galvanised and Elmbridge Council rejected the Application. The developers then lodged an appeal. However, following a public hearing at the end of 2005 this was rejected. A great deal of time and effort was expended by neighbours and we all learned a fair bit about a subject that to many of us was new. We were greatly assisted in our efforts by our local Residents' Association Councillors, in particular David Lowe, and that was a major reason why I later agreed to become the RA's Planning Convenor.
The Planning Process
So what is the process? It is not my intention in this small space to try to explain the planning process in detail; in any event, the process and the rules are constantly changing. For those interested in finding out more, there are numerous websites that can be consulted and these will shortly be listed on our RA website.
Once a planning application has been submitted (and this can now be done online), the Elmbridge Borough Council Planning Department officers will look to see that it is in order and if it is they will publicise it. They are required to post a yellow site notice and the usual practice is also to include the details in the weekly list on the Council web-site, and to make a list of applications available to the local press. Informal discussions will frequently take place between potential applicants and the planning department before an application is made, with a view to establish what is and what isn't likely to have a chance of acceptance. Once an application is regarded as 'valid' the Planning Department appoints a case officer to decide whether to recommend the application is accepted or not. A period is allowed for representations to be considered from third parties (usually 21 days from the date of the site notice) before the officer's decision.
Where there is considerable local objection to a planning application the case will usually be referred to the Area Planning Sub-Committee that considers applications at least once a month. Applications exciting at least 10 objectors will usually be 'promoted' to the sub-committee although if there are firm grounds to do so, ward councillors can request that applications go to Committee in any case. The Sub-Committee (East Area for Thames Ditton and Weston Green) comprises councillors from the local area including Hinchley Wood, Esher and Claygate, proportionate to the number of seats held by the residents' and political groups in Elmbridge overall. Declarations of Interest must be made at the start of each meeting (these are open to the public) and the 'rules of engagement' are rigorously enforced. On occasions, Committee members will have to abstain from discussions or voting where they might have some indirect involvement. The Sub-Committee has the power to accept or reject an application taking into account the case officer's recommendation, the planning guidelines, and any relevant representation made by the public. Ten written objections to an application entitles one of those objecting to address the Committee for up to 3 minutes. Sometimes the Sub-Committee may decide to promote a planning application to the full Council Planning Committee, or suggest that the application be deferred, where there are matters that remain to be considered. Generally a decision will be forthcoming on the night of the meeting.
What are grounds for objections?
In most cases the reference document for a planning decision is the 'Replacement Elmbridge Borough Local Plan 2000', which includes the special arrangements that exist for Conservation Areas. One very important reason for having our own Residents' representation on Council is that councillors have a say in the adoption of these Local Plans, and we want to try to ensure that their drafting takes into account likely circumstances in Thames Ditton and Weston Green. The Local Plan is comprehensive but it is not prescriptive, and its guidelines will often be open to interpretation and therefore, argument. It is supplemented by 'Design Guidance' notes (drafted by Elmbridge to reflect the Government's Planning Policy Guidance) that give examples of what is considered good and bad practice nationwide.
Appeals
Where planning applications are rejected, the applicant has the right of appeal and these go to the Planning Inspectorate based in Bristol. Appeals can be dealt with by written submissions or at a public hearing. The Council will defend its decision to reject, the applicant will argue otherwise and the decision will be made by the Planning Inspector appointed by the Minister for Communities and Local Government: currently Ruth Kelly.
The Role of the Residents' Association
One object of your Residents' Association, embodied in its constitution, is to 'protect the amenities of the area for the time being included in the Thames Ditton and Weston Green Wards'. With representation on Elmbridge planning committees and its close contact with the local community, the RA puts in substantial effort to retain the character of Thames Ditton and Weston Green area that we know and love. In very many applications, the Association does not automatically involve itself, but it monitors them all and ensures that they are brought to the attention of residents likely to be affected. Obviously, where an application is acceptable, as in the case of most smaller extensions or alterations, there will be few if any residents' objections and the RA will not become involved. These are the majority. Where there is an application thought particularly to threaten amenities, for example example in the conservation areas, or one that would set a bad precedent for our area in general, the Association may well take the lead in organising objections to it. But normally the Association will be responding to, and supporting where it can, concerns of residents themselves: for this is an association of residents - your Association. The RA presence is generally needed only when there are serious grounds for objection, and hence we run the risk of being labelled as 'Nimbies.' A little more reflection will show that this epithet is unjust. Planning is about managing change acceptably. With the full involvement of the RA over many decades, evolution in the villages has been managed with considerable regard for conservation and for new development to be reasonably in keeping with their character. While we have had to resist major attempts to despoil our locale with by-passes, light railways, supermarkets, and a 60s-style shopping centre, change has also encompassed a move from fading industrial premises to modern office facilities, and from the defunct Milk Marketing Board to an acceptable mix of new housing and community amenities, with the RA and our councillors playing a constructive role.
Staying focused…
There are always times when residents can't bear the prospect of an application going through and can't see why it should be allowed to do so: but objections will be most effective when they do not simply resist any change per se but are well focused on the planning guidelines and regulations in force. This means painstakingly building a case rather than going off at the deep end! Part of the RA's support will be the provision of some technical and tactical advice, based on recent experience of the planning process, to the residents who are organising objections. Another key part will be to monitor what the Planning Officer proposes to recommend, and if this looks likely to be an undesirable outcome to ensure that the full planning process is invoked, to Committee and Council if necessary. For this purpose too it is essential for the Residents' Association to have representatives on the Council. There are limits, however, to what councillors may do. They must abide by strict guidelines on permissible behaviour; they may be subject to a disciplinary process if they don't; and they can even face personal lawsuits from developers in some cases.
…Staying engaged
Finally, the Council's decision on a planning process does not always mean the end of the story. Developers, particularly those with substantial financial resources and with high profits at stake, can and do get an application through, begin work, and then seek to add more to the application. Or they may take the opposite tack, asking for far too much to be agreed the first time round, and submit repeated applications, modifying them slightly each time in the hope of getting past the process without conceding much. In both cases they may be counting on fatigue setting in among objectors. Developers may also go to appeal. The Residents' Association takes considerable pains to keep an eye on these tactics of attrition and to counter them. We win some, lose others; but in most cases what finally emerges from a contested application is at least an improvement on what was first proposed. Engagement is always worthwhile.
Graham Cooke, Residents' Association Planning Convener