Bristol City Council, as Local Planning Authority, in agreement with Neighbourhood Planning Network (NPN), have adopted the following procedure:

• For Planning Applications above 10 dwellings or 1,000 m2 of commercial floor space, a developer is now expected to involve the local community in discussion on the planning and design of the scheme and on any obligations on the developer to contribute works or finance in the locality that might be necessary to accommodate the scheme (called Section 106)
  
  
• The developer should meet with local groups ‘at the early ideas stage’, be­fore proposals are fixed in the type of use, site layout and design of scheme, ’when significant options are still open’ and ’while there is still the potential for the community to make a difference’.
  
  This is Ground rule 5 of the Statement of Community Involvement October 2008.
  
  
• Involvement should be a continuous process with the timetable for the period of making the planning application made clear in advance to the participants.
  
  Ground rule 3 of the Statement of Community Involvement October 2008.
  
  
• The developer is required to submit a Community Involvement Statement (CIS) with the Planning Application. SCI Adopted Oct 2008.
  
  
• A record of the discussions is made and submitted by the developer with the Planning Application as his Community Involvement Statement.
  
  The Planning Officer is, therefore, aware of any concerns that the community have about the proposed development and can see whether the developer has tried to address these concerns by changing the proposed design. He will be able to use this information in his report which is presented to the Planning Committee when they make their decision whether to approve or reject the Planning Application.
  
  
• The community can also make suggestions about what works or financial contributions might be needed to mitigate the impact of the development. (called Section 106)