The consultation period on the draft Planning Local Validation List has now expired. This will be reported to the Development Control Board on Thursday 15th March 2018 with a recommendation for adoption.
Have your say on the draft revised Planning Local Validation List:
A draft revised Planning Local Validation List has been produced which tells people submitting planning applications what supporting information will be needed and gives advice on the scope and the detail that is needed.
This draft local validation checklist has been produced to update and improve the earlier Local Validation List which is currently used to guide the submission of planning applications. It forms the basis on which planning applications are deemed to be valid.
The draft Local Validation List can be seen here.
The list is divided into two sections which are the national validation requirements and the local validation requirements. The national requirements are set by government and are consistent across all local planning authorities in England. These are set out on the Planning Portal. A local planning authority can also request supporting information with a planning application but in order to make this a requirement at submission the details must be specified on a formally adopted ‘local list’ which has been published on its website and reviewed regularly.
The list covers various issues and no application will require all this information. The information required will be dependent upon the scale of the development and the specifics of the proposal. Planning officers will advise as part of pre-application discussions which details are required to support the application and are necessary to make an application valid.
The local validation list review and the proposed changes:
Officers have reviewed the existing Validation List, in the light of changes in legislation and the adopted Development Plan and it is considered that all of the current requirements, with the exception of the Windfall Site Assessment matrix remain valid.
Some additional requirements are also recommended to bring the list up-to-date:
- The recent adoption of the Dartford Development Plan introduces additional policy requirements. Policy DP25 introduces the requirement for Habitat Regulation Screening Assessment for sites east of the Borough which are within the zone of influence of European protected habitats; Policy DP5 introduces the requirement to provided more information on the gassing landfill sites where proposals are for development or in the immediate vicinity of such sites, to ensure public health and the groundwater is protected. Policy DP24; requires developments on playing fields, sports pitches and Borough Open Space to demonstrate justification for the loss of such facilities and therefore an assessment should be provided as part of the application submission in order ensure full consideration of this matter
- The Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-20 requires a Minerals Assessment for development within Mineral Safeguarding Areas which is not an excluded category
- There is also an additional national requirement now for outline planning applications to indicate the area where the access is to be situated and so it is recommended that the validation checklist should be updated to reflect this
Where and when to make your response:
The Borough Council is seeking comments on the draft validation list over a period of 6 weeks from 9th January 2018 to 20th February 2018.
Responses should be emailed to planning.admin@dartford.gov.uk. Please include Validation List Consultation in the subject field
Any comments received will be reported to the Council’s Development Control Board and will be taken into account in the preparation of the final checklist before it is published on the Council’s website.