Q: Our village is fast turning into a town, with housing estates springing up on every side. Unlike traditional towns, however, we have no shops, no petrol station, no schools, no wide roads and no doctors’ surgery or employment facilities. Those of us who lived here pre the construction invasion have frankly had enough, but despite us objecting en-masse, we are continuously ignored and the planning applications get approved. Should we consider seeking the help of a solicitor to fight our corner?
A: Solicitors can certainly help with appealing planning decisions. They can also advise on the best approach to objecting to a planning application. But there are some simple guidelines that you could adopt on your own.
Firstly, sign up with your local authority to receive planning alerts in your area. This is useful as it is entirely at the discretion of the planning officers whom they consider affected, and who will be informed about pending applications. When you receive an alert, you can then find it on the planning portal and raise an objection in the ‘comments’ section. Even if it is past the stated time limit to comment, it is still worth raising an objection if a decision on the application has not been reached. You can do this by post or email if necessary.
One thing you should not do is start a local petition, as petitions do not carry any weight when it comes to objecting to planning applications. Rather than a petition, each objector in the group should put their objection in writing, using their own words so that each objection is different. Do not include opinions about the applicant, or political views, as these are also considered irrelevant. Research to get the right information to support your objection at the outset. Concentrate solely on facts such as the impact and dangers of additional traffic in the village, how the development could affect local wildlife etc.
This question has been answered by Richard Lloyd, a Partner with GHP Legal. If you would like to speak to someone about this or any other legal matter, please visit our website www.ghplegal.com and use the contact us form, or call us on: Wrexham 01978 291456, Llangollen 01978 860313, Oswestry 01691 659194
