Planning - Your application
The decision on your application will be made in line with the Local Plan (the statutory guide to how East Hampshire is expected to change and develop) and Hampshire County Council's Structure Plan, along with national legislation.
At least 65% of most planning decisions must be made within the Government's target of 8 weeks. We will always do our best to help you with making any necessary changes within this time. However a decision may be made without negotiation if your application requires too many time-consuming amendments.
Take a look at the Local Plan (read 'Local Plan Help' first for guidance)
Visit the Hampshire County Council's website to see the online version of the Structure Plan
After your application is received
The case officer will inspect the site and its surroundings to assess the merits of the proposal.
Everyone likely to affected should be given the opportunity to have their say. That means we must always notify your neighbours and anybody else we think should know. District councillors, parish councils and other agencies (e g highway engineers) are also consulted.
In some cases, we also seek expert advice from official bodies such as Natural England.
If the application is in a conservation area or is for a listed building, it must be advertised in the press and a notice posted on the site.
All comments are read by the case officer and the relevant points are taken into account.
See our Conservation pages
More on Listed Buildings
Natural England's website
How the decision is made
Around 80% of planning decisions are made by senior planning officers because the applications are straightforward.
The remaining 20% of decisions are made by the council's two planning committees which meet monthly in Alton (North) and Petersfield (South). All district councillors are members of the planning committee that covers their area. District councillors can request that any local planning application should be decided by committee, rather than by officers.
Find out more about our planning committees
If an application is to be decided by a committee, relevant points are summarised in a report for councillors. The comments received may raise issues which have to be checked and could lead to requirements for changes to the application. Anybody can attend the committee meetings to hear the debate.
When a planning committee is considering a major or controversial planning application, the applicant, a parish councillor and a single representative of the objectors can speak briefly at the committee meeting - these are known as Section 1 items.
In some cases, a committee may decide to inspect the site of the proposal before reaching a decision. The applicant, neighbours and objectors are invited to attend these committee site visits. A decision will normally be made at the next committee meeting.
Major planning applications which affect the whole district, or raise significant questions about planning policies in the Local Plan, may be referred by a planning committee to full council for a decision. This makes sure decisions on the biggest and most challenging planning cases are made by a district-wide committee of councillors who are responsible for setting planning policies.
Once a decision is made
When the Head of Planning Services or the Planning Committee has decided your application, we will send you or your agent the official decision notice. It is very important that you read this thoroughly and clarify any points you are unsure about.
If the decision is a permission or approval, it will clearly set out any conditions, some of which will need to be complied with before you start work; other conditions may have significant long-term implications. If you have started work before receiving permission or you have disregarded planning conditions, we will consider taking enforcement action.
If the decision is a refusal, the reasons will be shown on the decision notice. If you wish to continue with your proposal, we recommend that you seek professional planning advice on the possibility of modifying your plans to overcome the problems. If you wish to appeal against our decision, you should contact the Planning Inspectorate to obtain information on their appeal procedure.
Some planning decision notices are not issued until a legal agreement (Section 106 for planning matters, Section 278 for highway matters) between the council and the applicant has been signed. These agreements ensure that legal obligations, such as payments to the Council for public landscaped areas, are met in full by the applicant before development can start.
Find out more about Section 106 (developer contributions)
See the Highways Agency's website to find out more about Section 278
Tracking progress of an application
You can track the progress of any planning application through Planning on Line, the planning case officer (contact details shown on our letter heading) or the Customer Service Centre on 01730 234246.
We suggest that you contact us to find out the progress of your planning application if you have not heard from us after eight weeks from the date we registered your application.
If we have not made a decision about your planning application by that time, the law entitles you to assume that we have refused your application and you may start an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. Very few applicants decide to start an appeal after eight weeks. Our experience shows that appeals at this early stage involve applicants in additional delay and cost. Most applicants prefer to wait for our decision - which will be as soon as we are able to make it.
For further information please contact planningdev@easthants.gov.uk