Calling-in applications to Planning Committee

Call-in flow chart

Our call-in flow chart sets out the process for a call-in to Planning Committee.

View the call-in flow chart (opens in a new window)

What is a call-in?

A call-in is a process whereby a Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Member can ask for the Planning Committee to consider an application that otherwise would be determined by officers.

A call-in allows relevant points to be made at the Planning Committee meeting and places the decision-making for that application with the elected members of the Committee rather than with officers.

Members can call-in an application if they have a particular concern about it, or if a concern has been raised with them by a resident of their ward or by a member of the town or parish council.

Call-in rules

The Constitution sets out the following rules for call-ins:

a) The call-in must be received in writing within five weeks (35 days) of the Application Validated Date. This can be found under the 'Important Dates' tab for each application on the Council’s planning website. For Outline applications that have been amended to a Full application, the 35 days are from the date when the amendment was first made and advertised. Sometimes there can be a small delay between validation and web publication.

b) The reasons for the call-in must be agreed as valid by the Head of Planning/Development Manager.

c) The call-in must be made on valid material planning issues which must be outlined in the request for the call-in. These could include for example:

• impact on listed buildings and conservation areas;
• layout and density of buildings;
• design, appearance and materials;
• nature conservation/ecology;
• overlooking/loss of privacy;
• loss of light or overshadowing;
• highway safety;

Other valid reasons for an application to be determined by Committee can include:

• development that raises a new / unusual planning issue
• proposals that need a wider group of people to determine a finely balanced matter(s);
• a particularly complex planning history or site characteristics.

The following are not material planning issues (as decided by court cases) and cannot be used to call-in an application:

• loss of a view;
• negative impact on the value of properties;
• land ownership or covenants;
• applicant’s personal circumstances (unless exceptionally, relating to a physical disability or in some cases to gypsy/traveller accommodation);
• business competition;
• matters controlled under Building Regulations or other non-planning legislation.

The call-in process

Please also refer to the call-in flow chart (opens in a new window), which provides further information.

Stage 1

The first stage is to consider whether a call-in can be avoided. Is it possible to get a resolution to the concerns without calling-in the application?

The Member should always talk to the Case Officer (or in their absence the Development Manager) in the first instance and as early as possible to establish the facts of the application and to see if the Case Officer can answer the queries or provide more information. It may be that this persuades the Member that a call-in is not appropriate. For instance, if officers have already sought to negotiate improvements to the proposal which address the concerns, the Member will be able to pass this onto the concerned parties and perhaps a call-in will not be necessary. The Case Officer may be able to explain how the concerns raised are in fact not problematic, or the type of development is not unusual. The Case Officer may be in a position to indicate the likely recommendation (i.e. whether it should be granted or refused).

Officers will be able to discuss with members the wording of any potential call-in.

Stage 2

If, following these discussions, the Member decides to call-in the application, they must set this out in writing to the Head of Planning within five weeks (35 days) of the Application Validated Date. This can be found under the 'Important Dates' tab for each application on the Council’s planning website. A decision will not be made on the application until the expiration of 35 days from the Application Validated Date. The Case Officer can assist members with clarification of the dates.

Please note, no other email address can be used for a call-in.

Please do not directly email the Case Officer. Failure to use the correct address may result in the call-in not being received and actioned.

The call-in email will be acknowledged. Officers may sometimes contact members to discuss the terminology used.

It may be worth the Member reiterating to the persons or organisations who have requested that a call-in be made, that the call-in itself does not guarantee a particular result. A call-in only ensures that the decision on the application is made by elected Planning Committee members and is not a delegated decision by officers.

Stage 3

The written request is then considered by the Head of Planning or Development Manager. If the request is valid, this will be confirmed to the Member by return of email.

Wording of the call-in

The following format is suggested to ensure that all the necessary details are included:

I Councillor [INSERT NAME] Ward Member for [INSERT WARD] Ward request that planning application XX/XXXXX/XXX is called-in for determination by the Planning Committee.

I believe that this call-in is being made within the required 35 days, of the Application Validated Date of XX/XX/XXXX.

[Indicate why you are making the call-in, with a list of material planning considerations. Use examples below, if appropriate]

The reasons for the call-in are:

• the development will be overbearing and will block light to the next property;
• the scale of the proposals will be overdevelopment of the site;
• the lack of parking will result in highway safety matters;
• the design of the proposals would be unsympathetic and harmful to the conservation area;
• the proposals would result in excessive noise and disturbance.

[Indicate who you are making the call-in for]

I am making the application on behalf of local residents in my ward/on behalf of neighbours/on behalf of the Parish Council / because I have concerns with it.

[Indicate under which circumstances you want the call-in to be made]

EITHER I would like the call-in to be made only if the Officer’s recommendation is to approve the application

OR I would like the call-in to be made if the Officer’s recommendation it to refuse the application

OR I would like the call-in to be made regardless of Officer’s recommendation.

Preparation for the Planning Committee meeting

The expectation of members following a call-in is that the Member will represent their residents at the Planning Committee, or ensure that residents can attend to speak, or that a written statement (either on behalf of the residents or on behalf of the Member) is provided to be read out at the meeting.

Members should remain in contact with the residents about the call-in to help them with the process leading up to and in the meeting. Once the call-in has been accepted, the Member should confirm this to those who raised the issue and ask them to consider who will be speaking at the meeting. Up to four people may speak in favour and up to four against for up to three minutes each. The Member may also speak.

It is important that if there is more than one person speaking, the different speakers should organise who says what to avoid repetition, and the Member should reiterate this.

The planning application will be allocated to a specific Planning Committee meeting once officers have finalised their assessment of the application. The officer will notify the Member who called-in the application.

The Agenda for that meeting will be published five clear working days before the meeting. It is at this point that those who wish to speak at the meeting register with Democratic Services. The deadline for registering is 4pm the day before the meeting.

To register to speak, each resident should email committee@tunbridgewells.gov.uk giving details of their name, address, the application number and whether they are for or against the application. This is processed on a first come first served basis.

If the residents do not want to speak, they can ask the Member to represent them at the meeting. The Member can do this by speaking at the meeting or by sending in a written statement to be read by the Clerk.

This needs to be confirmed by email to Democratic Services committee@tunbridgewells.gov.uk by 4pm the day before the meeting. The same process applies if the Member wants to represent their views in addition to the residents speaking.

The Member should keep in touch with the residents to understand who has registered to speak. It is the responsibility of the Member to ensure that residents understand the process, understand about speaking, and have either a) made arrangements to speak or submit statements themselves, or b) arranged for the Member to speak or submit a statement on their behalf. The Member must confirm by email to Democratic Services whether they themselves wish to speak or submit a statement.

Important notes for members of Planning Committee

Members of the Planning Committee are advised that there can be a perception that:

• if they call-in an application following an approach by a neighbour, applicant, parish or town council, that they could be perceived as representing a particular individual or group, or;
• if they call-in an application only if the recommendation is to grant permission, or only if it is to refuse, that they have pre-judged that application:
  • for example, if a Member calls-in an application only if recommended for refusal, that Member has already formed a judgement that it should be approved;
  • indeed, there can be a perception that a Member has pre-judged the application, just through expressing an indication in writing that they are considering calling it in, subject to a particular recommendation, even if they do not eventually call-in that application.

This can be problematic in terms of that particular Member taking part in the debate and voting on that item at Planning Committee.

For these reasons, members of the Planning Committee are advised that if they are approached about calling-in an application, they could suggest that another non-Planning Committee Member is approached, for example, another ward Member.

If a Planning Committee Member wishes to pursue the call-in, they are advised only to call-in applications regardless of the recommendation. The Case Officer or Development Manager will always be happy to discuss such matters with members before the call-in is made in writing.

Multiple call-ins and withdrawal of call-in

It is usual that an application is called-in by the respective ward Member, but applications can on occasion be called-in by multiple members. This may be the case if the members have different reasons for calling-in the application.

There are also occasions when a Member calls-in an application, but subsequently decides to withdraw that call-in, for example, if amendments have been made that have addressed a particular issue or area of concern. If this occurs after the five week call-in period has expired, this means that the application could be determined under delegated powers. It is administratively difficult for officers to inform all other members that a call-in has been withdrawn.

It may be that another Member was thinking about calling-in an application but decided not to as the first Member had already called-in the application and would be unaware that it was subsequently withdrawn.

Therefore, members are strongly advised that if they wish to call-in an application, that they do so even if it has already been called-in, or are confident that the original call-in will not be withdrawn.

Speaking at Planning Committee

Any Member who is not a Member of the Planning Committee can speak on an application for up to three minutes, providing they have registered with the Democratic Services team by 4pm on the working day before the meeting.

Planning Committee members who have either a pecuniary or significant other interest or have fettered their discretion can also register in the same way, but will be obliged to leave the meeting immediately after speaking. More specific advice in this respect should be sought from the Monitoring Officer or other legal officers.

Information about speaking at meetings is set out in the Council’s Constitution within: Planning Committee Procedure Rules and the Protocols for members taking part in the planning process.

Public information about speaking at Planning Committee is available on the is available on the your right to speak at Planning Committee page and further individual advice is available from the Democratic Services team.