Community Involvement can be through discussions with the developer of a site before he decides how to develop it
Pre Application Community Involvement (Pre App CI)This is through the Pre Application Community Involvement process called Pre App CI. This means that, before the developer applies to the Local Planning Authority for permission to develop a site, he or his agent will have a series of discussions with the local community about his proposals for development.
The Local Planning Authority expects the developer of any
- major (10 residential units or 1,000 sq m of commercial floorspace or a mixture of the two)
or
- super major (100 residential units or 10,000 sq m of commercial floorspace)
to have Pre Application Community Involvement discussions and to submit, with his Planning Application, a Community Involvement Statement giving details of the discussions he has had and how they have affected the design.
What has changed from before the adoption of this new process?
Previously, the community would only be able to comment on a planning application during the statutory (usually 12 week) consultation period after a Planning Application is submitted.
There is little opportunity to affect or change a proposed development once a Planning Application has been made, so most planning groups have concentrated on opposing developments that they feel will have an adverse impact on their neighbourhood.
Since the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act and Bristol City Council's adoption of the Statement of Community Involvement in October 2008, the community is able to be involved before Planning Application stage.
This means that members of the community can talk to the developer and make him aware of issues that their community feel important in consideration of development in their area.
There is an advantage to both parties;
- the community may be aware of, or hold strong views about, issues that the developer would not otherwise discover until too late, and
- the community may be able to convince the developer to design a scheme that is welcomed by the community.
See Pre App CI for further information for Developers - guidance and contact information
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