6. Write a Letter

All - Inform Others - Organise - Contact Councillors - Contact MP - Inform Groups
Write Letter - Gather Petition - Organise Protest - Contact Media - Present Case

Surely the second most iniquitous and unbalanced aspect of the planning system is that local authorities will normally only take the views of local residents into account when they are presented in a letter, but that the letter must touch on particular issues before it will be taken into account at all. Thus, you cannot simply say you 'don't like' a development, or that 'it's ugly'. This does not fit the rules of the local authority, and so they can ignore you.

Their rules say that your opinions must fall in to particularly categories ['planning issues'] where there is a body of law. The trick is not to let them get away with it ... and so you must couch your comments in a way that cannot be ignored. The trouble is that there is a huge body of planning law in which your local authority's officers - and to a lesser extent its Councillors [sometimes to a much lesser extent] - are supposed to be expert, while, naturally, most of us are not!

There is a simple check-list that should hit most of the buttons, but if you really want to challenge the assumptions, assertions and, alliteratively speaking, ambitions of your local authority, it may be worth doing some reading! [especially your local authority's 'Development Plan' - also known as 'District' or 'Local' Plan - which details their agreed policy on development in the area, and from which they must get permission to 'depart']. However, check changes to this document and how planning works.

By the way don't simply write one letter as a residents' association [although do this as well], get every member to write a letter. Local authorities play the numbers game, as well as the rules game. They will count the number of letters for, and the numbers against, with residents' groups getting a special mention.

If you object to a proposed development use the word 'object' in your letter, otherwise they may put it on record as a 'comment', and there will be one less 'objection' to the scheme.

© 2006 / The Planning Resource Founding Trust