Issue - meetings

The Committee noted that the Council often received approaches from external parties who were generally commercial developers wishing to present early development concepts to councillors as a type of consultation exercise. Such presentations were mutually beneficial and allowed councillors to understand proposals well before the pre-planning application phase. On occasion, the Council itself might be the developer or working in partnership with one of those parties. The Council’s existing Probity in Planning Handbook was silent on the matter of commercial presentations.

As the Local Planning Authority, it was important for the Council to demonstrate full transparency regarding such presentations to both reassure the public there were no ‘behind doors agreements’ and to protect councillors with regard to probity and proper practice. It was also important that every presentation was organised and delivered in the same way so as to assure equality of opportunity to present by third parties. Helpfully, a protocol could also be shared with a developer so that the Council’s requirements were clearly understood by all in advance.

Consequently, a draft protocol had been drawn up under the supervision of the Corporate Governance Task Group to set out how all requests from third parties could be received and organised. The draft protocol, as a member approved document, also provided guiding principles for officers and councillors to turn to when it was considered to be inappropriate for a commercial presentation to take place.  A copy of the Protocol, as drafted by the Task Group, was attached as Appendix 1 to the report submitted for the Committee’s consideration.

During the debate, it was noted that parish councils might wish to consider adopting a similar protocol should they be approached by developers to discuss informally early-stage development proposals.

The Committee felt that the protocol should be included as an annex to the Probity in Planning Handbook, which was itself presently under review by the Task Group. On completion of that review, the Handbook with the Protocol attached to it as an annex would be submitted ultimately to full Council for approval. 

Having reviewed the draft Protocol, the Committee

RESOLVED: That the draft Protocol for Commercial Presentations to Councillors be endorsed and that it be included as an annex to the Probity in Planning Handbook for approval by Council.

Reason:

To provide guidance on how to deal with requests from external parties to make commercial presentations to councillors in respect of developments well in advance of the pre-planning application stage.