The chair to advise on any deputations or petitions.
Minutes:
None were received.
At this juncture a resident raised an issue about the planning processes surrounding a certain planning application.
The legal officer present explained that community council procedure rules clearly state that you cannot hear a deputation which refers to a particular planning application.
Councillor Stephen Govier asked if the resident could be heard particularly as he wrote to members about this matter. Also Camberwell Community Council should look closely at the way it encourages developers in the local area to preconsult before submitting a planning application.
The chair stated whatever matter is of concern the consultation process is likely to be extended taking into account the views expressed by residents. The chair further advised members that they could not discuss any planning issues.
The chair allowed Mr Sheard to speak for two minutes and asked members not to give a view but to note his comments. The members present agreed.
Mr Sheard spoke about the planning process in that correspondence from local residents are not always responded to by the council. Also when downloading documents from the council’s website they appeared upside down or were not relevant in many cases. He explained that this seems to be a problem with applications in general and asked if elected councillors could intervene on their behalf.
The chair asked Mr Sheard to write to the Chief Executive and Director of Communities, Law and Governance. The chair also mentioned that she would consider this as a separate agenda item at a future community council meeting.
Councillor Ian Wingfield said this was not solely a Camberwell issue but an issue across the whole borough. We need a robust process which could be achieved if we look at best practice in other local authorities.
The following motion was submitted and agreed by Members:
AGREED:
That Camberwell Community Council notes the comments above and request the Chief Executive to draw up a report on theses issues so that it could be considered by cabinet and the main planning committee and then adopted across the borough.