The Parish Council does not make decisions on planning applications – that is the job of Epping Forest District Council who are the Local Planning Authority (LPA). However, the Parish Council is a statutory consultee for some applications and is usually consulted on all planning applications that are either in the Parish or may affect it.
In late 2024, the planning application process was changed making it harder for Parish Councils to object to applications and harder for local District Councillors to vote against certain applications. The Parish Council feels this is undemocratic and totally undermines the principal of localism but can do little about it.
The Parish Clerk receives notifications of new planning applications weekly and the Parish Council then considers them either at the next scheduled Full Council meeting or at a specifically convened meeting.
The Parish Council can only make comments about ‘material planning concerns’ relevant to the application as any other comments will be considered irrelevant by the Planning Officers and disregarded for the purposes of decision making.
Residents are strongly advised to make their own comments on any local planning applications via the District Council website or via their District/County Councillor.