Material Planning Considerations

What sort of things can be taken into account?

In considering a planning application, the council has a statutory duty to have regard to the provisions of the Local Plan and any other "material considerations". The most common "material considerations" include the following. This list and the list of what cannot be considered are not exhaustive.

Material Planning Consideration local

• Planning policies
• Highway safety issues
• Impact on countryside
• The National Planning Policy Framework
• Traffic generation
• Loss of important trees
• Government circulars, orders and statutory instruments
• Parking
• Landscaping
• Previous planning decisions (including appeal decisions)
• Design, visual appearance, and materials
• Impact on listed buildings/ Conservation Areas
• Loss of daylight or sunlight
• Layout and density of buildings
• Archaeology
• Overshadowing/loss of outlook (but not loss of view)
• Noise and disturbance from use
• Risk of flooding
• Overlooking/loss of privacy
• Smells
• Hazardous materials and ground contamination
• Light pollution
• Nature conservation
• Disabled persons access

What cannot be taken into account? 

• Loss of view
• Breach of restrictive covenant
• Loss of property value competition or loss of trade to a competitor
• Private issues between neighbours e.g. land/boundary disputes, damage to property, private rights of way, covenants etc.
• Personal circumstances of the applicant (in most cases)
• Matters controlled under Building Regulations or other non-planning laws, e.g. structural stability, drainage, fire precautions etc.
• Moral objections e.g. to uses such as amusement arcades and betting offices
• The development is already completed
• Problems arising from the construction period of any works, e.g. noise, dust, construction vehicles, hours of work etc.
• Party wall issues 

We will not consider and will remove from our View Applications Online system, any comments which are:

• Offensive statements that lower a person's reputation personally or within their trade, profession or business
• Racist statements that discriminate against individuals on racial grounds including their race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins
• Comments that discriminate on grounds of religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability
• Anonymous comments