Comment on a Planning Application

Please Note

Anyone can comment on any current planning application. All comments need to be in writing - we cannot accept comments over the telephone or anonymously. Your comments will be redacted and uploaded onto our website and will be available for everyone to view. This process takes time, and if you can't view your own comments on the website yet, this does not mean that we haven't received them - comments are given to the planning officer before they are uploaded on to the website. Please continue to scroll down for more information about this process.

Current applications can be viewed in the weekly lists of planning applications received or by using the planning application search.

How to comment on a planning application

You can submit your comment on a planning application in the following ways:

Online

Submit your planning application comments online using the Planning Application Comments Form on this website. Please note that this form will time out after a while, so it may help if you formulate your comments first, then enter them into the form just before submitting it.

By email or post

You can email your comments to planning@ribblevalley.gov.uk or write to us at the address at the following address:

Planning Department
Council Offices
Church Walk
Clitheroe
Lancashire
BB7 2RA

Your comment

Comments must include:

your name and postal address
application number
site address of the planning application you are commenting on
the date

Comments made on planning applications can be read by everyone including the applicant and will form part of a permanent public record from the day that we receive them - anyone can see your comments at any time. Please ensure you only provide information that you are happy to have available to others. To find out more about how we process your data please refer to the Council's Privacy Policy for Planning.

All comments should be received by us within the time limit shown on our notification letters or site notices. During this consultation period, the planning officer will not make a decision and will wait until the end of the period specifically so that third party representations can be taken into account. After the consultation period, the planning officer is able to make their decision and once an application has been determined it will be too late for comments to be taken into account.

If an application is taken to Planning and Development Committee we can only accept comments up to the day before the meeting. Comments received after this may not reach the planning officers in time for them to make the councillors aware of your views.

To make sure that we take your comments in to consideration please do not leave it until the last moment to forward them to us. Once an application has been determined your observations cannot form part of our determination process.

Even if you have commented on a previous application on the same site we must receive your opinions again for the current application if you wish them to be considered.

What happens when I comment on an application?

We pass your comments to the planning officer dealing with the application. We are unable to send acknowledgements or enter into discussion with you about your comments. All comments received will be taken into account when the application is determined.

In the event of an appeal any comments we received during the course of an application will be forwarded to the Planning Inspectorate, who may publish your comments online. If there is an appeal, we will notify you using the contact details you gave us in your comments.

Comments which are taken in to account

All of your comments will be noted but it is better if you confine yourself to commenting on a number of different matters called material considerations. These include:

Scale, appearance and design
impact on the local residents including loss of light, noise or privacy
impact on the character of an area
effect on highway safety and parking
effect on nature conservation and trees
effect on a conservation area
effect on a listed building

The government makes it very clear that there are some things that are not material planning considerations. These cannot be taken in to account:

loss of property value
boundary disputes
private matters between neighbours such as rights of access and damage to property
trade competition

Who can comment?

Anyone can make a comment. You do not need to live near the application site or have received a letter from us to make a comment.

Who is notified?

When a new application is submitted we notify the local parish council and certain third party organisations such as Historic England, Lancashire County Council or the Environment Agency.

We also notify the neighbours that we feel may be directly affected by the development. The neighbours we choose to notify depends upon the size and type of the development.

Viewing comments on a planning application

Any comments made on a planning application are available for public inspection (including the applicant). They will be redacted and uploaded onto our website with the other documents relating to the application and can be viewed using the planning application search.

All planning files, including files going back to 1948 are available to view by appointment at the Planning Department, Level D, Council Offices, Church Walk, Clitheroe, BB7 2RA. To make an appointment please email us at planning@ribblevalley.gov.uk