Planning Application Consultations
Environmental Health is a statutory consultee on planning applications. Planning Officers will consult Environmental Health where there are potential environmental protection or public health matters relevant to an application.
Why?
By reviewing and making recommendations on planning applications, potential problems can be identified, prevented or managed with effective planning conditions. This makes sure that:
- existing homes, facilities, businesses or other development are not unacceptably affected by new development; and
- new development is not unacceptably affected by existing development, facilities or businesses.
When potential problems are identified, the applicant has the opportunity to look at how these can be dealt with to prevent problems during construction or afterwards.
Scope
Environmental Health will normally restrict comments to environmental protection and public health matters. These include:
- air quality;
- dust (usually only during construction);
- lighting, if it has the potential to cause nuisance to neighbours;
- noise, including:
- existing noise affecting the development;
- noise associated with the construction;
- noise from the development affecting other noise sensitive properties; and
- noise associated with the operation of the development such as from deliveries or other vehicles using or or serving the site;
- odour (smell);
- vibration (usually only during construction, but may include on-site plant); and
- waste management facilities
Where other legislation, licenses or permits may may apply to a proposal, this will usually be highlighted.
Supplementary Guidance
Planning guidance provides additional detail on specific subject areas and explains how planning policies will be implemented. It is produced as either 'statutory' supplementary guidance (SG) or 'non-statutory' planning guidance (PG).
Statutory SG must have been referenced within the Local Development Plan, gone through consultation and approved by Scottish Ministers. Once adopted, SG has statutory weight in the determination of planning applications and forms part of the plan.
Non-statutory PG is not subject to approval by Scottish Ministers and is not part of the development plan. As a consequence it does not have as much weight as SG but is nonetheless a 'material consideration' in decisions on planning applications.
The noise SG is a statutory SG while the Air Quality SG is non-statutory. Both can be found here:
Developers should consult these in advance of submitting any noise or air quality assessment to ensure that information submitted:
- is gathered and presented in line with council policy; and
- fully meets the information and methodology requirements laid down.
Assessments submitted which do not meet the requirements of the SG may result in delays in providing a response to the planning officer or a recommended rejection on the basis of insufficient information.
Parts of other Supplementary Guidance may also be relevant to planning consultation responses by Environmental Health.
Communications
All communication on these matters is carried out internally with Planning Officers, unless direct contact with outside parties is agreed with the Planning case officer. This ensures that the Planning case officer is fully aware of any communications with the applicant, their agent or other parties. Environmental Health will not accept or respond to any objections or complaints in relation to planning decisions. These should be made to the Planning case officer.
