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Thanet Council gives local residents 21 days in which to comment on an application in writing either by letter or email or via our website

Remember to quote:

• the reference number attached to the application you are commenting on
• your name and full postal address

They are wide ranging and include:

• The effect of the proposed development on the appearance of the area
• The quality of the design
• Significant overbearing impact and loss of outlook
• The economic benefits of the proposal
• Highway safety issues
• Loss of important trees
• Intrusion into the countryside
• Significantly increased noise and disturbance

Many concerns cannot be addressed through the planning process, these include:

• Loss of view
• Loss of property value
• Breach of covenant
• Loss of trade to a competitor
• The level of profit a developer might make
• Personal circumstances of the applicant (in most cases)
• Moral objections e.g. to uses such as amusement arcades and betting offices
• Ancient rights to light

After the 21 day consultation period has passed the Case Officer should have all the information needed to assess the application. The Council has to consider the proposed development in line with the policies set out in the Development Plan. If it is in line, it could be approved.

The Development Plan is comprised of the following two documents:

1. Kent and Medway Structure Plan 2006
2. Thanet Local Plan 2006

Both of these documents must be considered when looking at the application.

As well as these documents, the Council must also consider other ‘material’ or relevant factors including planning law, policy and guidance.

The Council is legally obliged to take into account the comments from neighbours and other interested parties when deciding all planning applications. Furthermore, the Council encourages local residents to have their say in planning matters. However, it is important to remember that the Council is responsible for making the final decision on the application and for deciding how much “weight” your comments have on it’s final decision.

To receive further guidance on making your comments, you are advised to refer to the Development Plan documents and Government guidance. If you are in any doubt please contact the Case Officer.

A Ward Councillor can request that an application be reported to Planning Committee, if they have a justified  planning policy related reason. This means it will be debated in public at a Planning Committee meeting with the Ward Councillors able to speak on your behalf. To find out who your Ward Councillors is, call 01843 577500 or see Councillors pages

Due to the large number of responses the Council receives, it is not possible to respond personally to each letter. Your letter will be acknowledged and the final decision on the application will be updated on the Council’s website.

Copies of your correspondence will be made available for public viewing at the Council Offices and on the Council’s website with telephone number, email address, house name/number and signatures removed.

Your comments will be used by the Case Officer in deciding the planning application and you should be aware that other members of the public may see your views.

No, the volume of objections will not in itself result in an application being refused. An application can only be refused for ‘planning reasons’ and not because of the number of objections.

The Council’s Planning Committee has given the authority to Planning Case Officers to decide the majority of planning applications. However, a minority of complex applications often when a Ward Councillor requests it, are reported to the Planning Committee, who meet monthly to decide applications.

In the rare instances that a large application goes against the policies set out in the Development Plan, the matter will then be referred to the Government who will decide whether the Council should be allowed to decide the application.

As the law stands there is no right of appeal for objectors. In certain circumstance a Council’s decision can be challenged in the courts, if there is a concern that the Council has acted unlawfully.

• View the Thanet Local Plan to find out further planning information
• Central Government advice notes and statements can be found at http://www.communities.gov.uk/
• General planning advice can be obtained at http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/

Your Planning Application Case Officer can be contacted by telephone or e-mail below. Officers are often on site, however an answer phone message service is available.

Processing personal data and special category data is necessary for the exercise of planning functions, and any comment you make about an application must, by law, be placed on the file (which we make available via the Council’s website and include in any other form of the file held). The Council’s approach to publishing comments online is contained on our website, on consultation letters, on site notices, on any newspaper advert and on our online portal.

We operate a policy where we routinely redact the following details before making
representations available online:
● Personal contact details including house number, telephone numbers, email addresses only.
● Signatures
● Special Category Data – e.g. supporting statements that include information about
health conditions or ethnic origin.

This is in accordance with the Information Commissioner’s guidance.

As representations received form part of the planning register, these must be made available, and therefore if comments are submitted, you are agreeing for the comments and your name to be published on the website with only the data stated above redacted. Comments will be published online within 10 working days of submission.

In the event that the Council receives a complaint that information has not been redacted in accordance with the above, the Council will investigate and resolve the matter within 24 hours (within the working week) of receipt of the complaint. Any complaint must be sent to planning.services@thanet.gov.uk.

Comments that contain personal, racist, defamatory or derogatory material will not be taken into consideration or published. This also applies to photos that include images of people or any personal details. In most circumstances your comment will be returned to you and / or be totally disregarded. Any links to web addresses within representation will be redacted before being published.

Representations marked confidential (including in the text of the email) will not normally be taken into account as they cannot be made publicly available. We do not accept anonymous representations and anonymous complaints will be destroyed.

In the event that a representation received during a consultation process is requested to be removed/deleted/rescinded/not considered by the author of the representation, the Council take the following action within 5 working days of receiving the request:

• Delete the representation from all email locations (inbox, sent items, generic email boxes, any forwarding emails).

• Dispose any hard copies (or photocopies of the original) within confidential waste.

• Delete the representation from any database or document management system where the representation is held.

Upon completion of these tasks, the Council will notify the author that representation has been removed from the relevant record.

In the event that the Council receives a complaint that a representation has been published online contains personal, racist, defamatory or derogatory material, the Council will remove the representation in question and review whether it should be published online either in full or in part, or whether it should be returned. The Council will inform the complainant of the outcome of this review.