The statement of community involvement sets out how planning services intends to involve the local community in planning issues, including:
- who will be consulted
- when involvement should take place
- which methods will be used.
Its purpose is to ensure active and continuous community participation in the planning process, whilst also making sure that the best decisions are made.
The former version of the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) was consulted upon and adopted in November 2024. Since 2024 the council has implemented use of a public access planning portal in relation to planning applications. Subsequently, very minor changes to the SCI are required in relation to consultation methods for planning applications.
In summary, the SCI 2025 has had minor amendments made to reflect changes in how planning applications are now viewed and commented on via the public access portal.
This new version of the SCI, SCI 2025, was adopted by Cabinet on 13 November 2025.