Issue - meetings

The procedure for making amendments was formally implemented following Cabinet approval on 7 January 2025.  As part of this process, it was agreed that an update report would be brought to the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee after six months to provide an overview of progress and any emerging issues.

The report of the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health provided an update on implementation of the Procedure on making amendments to Planning including Reserved Matters applications, following approval for adoption by Cabinet on 7 January 2025.

Main scenarios where amendments could be accepted without a Planning Performance Agreement were set out in paragraph 4.5 of the report.

In general, Members welcomed the introduction of the revised procedure on amendments and recognised that, although having been applied at only one Area Planning Committee meeting so far, it had provided flexibility in securing improvements to a development scheme.  Equally, officers were also, overall, supportive of the amended procedure given the greater discretion it presented, enabling constructive working with applicants to enhance the quality of proposals without requiring full resubmissions.

Given the discretionary nature of the amendment procedure, Members were reminded that officers were not obliged to accept all proposed changes, and significant or major amendments would be excluded from the process, ensuring that such proposals were appropriately channelled through formal pre-application discussions.

Finally, Members noted that implementation of the procedure would continue to be monitored in accordance with national guidance, taking into account any potential future changes to the planning policy or legislation, although a further report would only be brought back to the Committee if the Procedure failed to meet its intended objectives or caused unintended negative consequences.