When it comes to housing development across RBWM then there are various legal documents that come into play. There are national rules and then there are local rules that also need to be considered by our planning officers when making decisions.
Windsor Neighbourhood Plan – WNP
This tends to focus on the design aspect, ensuring that each area of Windsor keeps its unique look respecting its history, rather than allowing unattractive buildings to be plonked just anywhere.
It also nominates pieces of land as “Local Green Space” which helps protect it from development.
The Government determines how many new houses should be built in an area. The BLP enables land owners to step forward and offer their land for building the required homes over the next 20 years. By being listed in the BLP land can be taken out of the green belt.
National Planning Policy Framework – NPPF
The National Planning Policy Framework was revised on 20 July 2021 and sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied.
There are a range of other policy documents that need to be considered like the Parking Strategy, to do with how many parking spaces should be provided on a development but the above are the main rules & regulations regarding planning.
When someone is looking to build an extension or outbuilding on their property then while you are not expected to know the rules, as you are not a planning officer, it is those rules that will determine the decision.
Having sat on the planning panel for the last 4 years I have read all 3 documents and while I obviously cannot recall specific policy numbers verbatim, I have a good idea of where to look for the rules. This has been of great benefit to me in reading planning applications. Today I can read through them relatively quickly and pull out the key points on which to focus my energy.
Residents tend to only get involved when a planning application impacts them directly in some way and while they may make an emotional objection on the planning portal, if their objections don’t meet any of the planning policy rules then they will be dismissed.
You have to object based on the policies for it to be valid. You don’t need to know the numbers as it falls to officers to read your complaint and add the policy numbers that are relevant.
Each planning application needs to be considered individually and that’s why we have a whole team of planning officers making sure that they meet the relevant criteria as laid down in the documents above.
You can find planning applications in your street by checking the RBWM Planning Portal and you can set up saved searches which will email you as new applications come in or as decisions are made.
It is probably sensible to contact your local Cllr to share your concerns and they can then offer advice and suggestions to help you with the process. You might not always welcome the advice but non the less, it makes sense to ask.
I am always happy to discuss planning applications with residents in Clewer & Dedworth West.
Thank you.
Jon
