Code of conduct for councillors

Section 7: Taking Decisions On Quasi-Judicial Or Regulatory Applications

Introduction

7.1 The Code’s provisions relate to the need to ensure a proper and fair hearing and to avoid any impression of bias in relation to statutory decision-making processes. These provisions apply not only to those made under planning legislation but to a number of others of a quasi-judicial or regulatory nature which the local authority may also have to consider. These will include applications for taxi, betting and gaming, liquor, theatres, cinemas and street trader licences and a range of other similar applications where the issuing of a statutory approval or consent is involved. This also includes where the local authority is acting in an enforcement, disciplinary or adjudicatory role.

Fairness and Impartiality

7.2 On questions relating to such matters on which councillors have to make individual decisions, you may have to take account of different points of view or make decisions based on specified statutory criteria.

7.3 In such cases, it is your duty to ensure that decisions are properly taken and that parties involved in the process are dealt with fairly. Where you have a responsibility for making a formal decision, you must not only act fairly but also be seen as acting fairly. Furthermore, you must not prejudge, or demonstrate bias in respect of, or be seen to be prejudging or demonstrating bias in respect of, any such decision before the appropriate Council meeting. In making any decision, you should only take into account relevant and material considerations and you should discount any irrelevant or immaterial considerations.

7.4 To reduce the risk of your, or your Council’s, decisions being legally challenged, you must not only avoid impropriety, but must at all times avoid any occasion for suspicion and any appearance of improper conduct.

7.5 You must never seek to pressure officers to provide a particular recommendation on any quasi-judicial or regulatory application; and you should not seek privately to lobby other councillors who have a responsibility for dealing with such an application.

7.6 Councillors who have been appointed to outside bodies may in certain circumstances be entitled to participate in discussion and voting on matters relating to these bodies through the benefit of the specific exclusions provided for in paragraph 5.18 of this Code. It should be emphasised, however, that these exclusions are subject to the conditions set out in paragraph 5.18, especially in relation to matters of a quasi-judicial or regulatory nature.

Decisions on Planning Matters

Policy and Strategic Issues

7.7 The requirements of this part of the Code should not limit you from discussing or debating matters of policy or strategy, even though these may provide the framework within which individual applications will in due course be decided,

7.8 Therefore in your key role in establishing planning policies for the area, you are fully entitled to express your views or advocate proposals for the making, approval or amendment of the development plan, including supplementary planning guidance published by the planning authority both relating to general policies for the authority’s area and to briefs and master plans prepared for specific sites in anticipation of planning applications.

7.9 You may also be asked to comment on requests to the planning authority for a provisional view as to whether in respect of a proposal for a major development the authority might be minded, in principle, to consider granting planning permission. This may occur in cases where developers are seeking the planning authority’s view in advance of committing to expensive and lengthy technical appraisals. As a part of any such request and only as part of the planning authority considering and forming such a provisional view, you are entitled to express an opinion in advance of the statutory application for planning permission being submitted to the planning authority formally for determination.

General

7.10 As a councillor you may have to deal with planning decisions in a number of ways. You may:

(i) become involved in local cases as a ward representative, or

(ii) you may be more actively involved in decision-making:

a. as a member of a committee dealing generally with decisions on planning applications;

b. in certain cases, you may be a member of the committee where applications are subject to a pre-determination hearing;

c. as a member dealing with applications referred to the full council for determination; and

d. as a member of the Council’s Local Review Body dealing with reviews where officers acting under delegated authority have refused planning permission or granted it subject to conditions which the applicant does not agree with or of non-determination of the application by the officer;or have not dealt with the application within the prescribed timescale.

7.11 If you propose to take part in the decision-making process you must not give grounds to doubt your impartiality. You must not make public statements about a pending decision, to ensure that you are not seen to be prejudging a decision which will be made at the meeting where it can be anticipated that the information required to take a decision will be available. You must not indicate or imply your support or opposition to a proposal, or declare your voting intention, before the meeting. Anyone who may be seeking to influence you must be advised that you will not formulate an opinion on a particular matter until all available information is to hand and has been duly considered at the relevant meeting.

7.12 If you have an interest, whether financial or non-financial, in the outcome of a decision on a planning application, or a planning agreement, or on taking enforcement action, or in a Local Review Body, you must declare that interest and refrain from taking part in making the decision.

Representations

7.13 Where you will be participating in making the appropriate decision, you should not organise support for, or opposition to, or lobby other councillors or act as an advocate to promote a particular recommendation on a planning application, on a planning agreement, on taking enforcement action, or on a review by the Local Review Body.

7.14 You are not precluded from raising issues or concerns on any of the matters associated with the application with the planning officers concerned. Indeed, a councillor may well have an important contribution to make in respect of an individual planning application or on what the Council should include in a planning agreement. It is entirely appropriate for councillors, including those who will have a decision making responsibility, to make known to planning officers what representations from constituents and prospective developers they have received on a planning application, to attend public meetings/ events (including those relating to statutory pre-application consultation) and to assist constituents in making their views known to the relevant planning officer. This applies to those councillors with a decision-making responsibility, provided that at no time does the councillor express a "for" or "against" view by advocating a position in advance of the decision making meeting (other than in respect of the circumstances set out in paragraphs 7.9 and 7.18).

7.15 If as part of the decision making process you wish to make representations on behalf of constituents or other parties you may do so providing:

(a) you do so in terms of procedures agreed by the Council which afford equal opportunity to any parties wishing to make representations to do so;

(b) you declare your interest in the matter; and

(c) after making those representations you then retire from the meeting room.

Full Council Decisions

7.16 There are certain planning applications where the final decision has to be made by the full council. These applications will be those where there has been the opportunity for a pre-determination hearing. These procedures apply to major developments which are significantly contrary to the development plan and for national developments. It will be apparent before the application is formally submitted to the council which developments are national or major. Where the application is for a national development you will be involved in the decision making process as a member of the full Council.

7.17 Where the application is for a major development, it may not be clear at the outset whether the development is significantly contrary to the development plan and therefore one where the full council will be making the final decision. It will be for the planning authority to come to such a view as part of considering the application.

7.18 You are entitled to take part in the decisions to be made by the full Council even though you may have expressed an opinion on the application at a pre-determination hearing or at the planning committee.

Local or Area Planning Committees

7.19 All local authorities will have their own procedures for dealing with planning applications. Councils may adopt a system in which most applications are dealt with by local or area planning committees with the remaining being dealt with by a central planning committee. Some also have procedures where decisions can be referred from a planning committee to the full Council for final determination.

7.20 Individual members may make their provisional views known as part of the discussions at earlier meetings. Councillors who have responsibility for the decision should only make a final judgement when all the relevant material considerations are before the meeting that will, in fact, determine the application. These considerations can quite appropriately include the views of a local or area committee for a central planning committee, or the views of a planning committee or a pre-determination hearing in advance of the full Council.

Other Interests

7.21 If you have substantial property or other interests which would prevent you from voting on a regular basis you should not sit on a decision-making committee that deals with planning applications.

7.22 You must not act on behalf of, or as an agent for, an applicant for planning permission with the Council other than in the course of your professional role which you have registered.

Site visits

7.23 As a councillor, you may be asked to attend site visits in connection with a pending planning application or review. If you do so, you should follow the procedures for such visits set out by your authority; for local reviews there are details about site visits in the relevant regulations. These procedures should be consistent with the provisions of this Code.

Unauthorised developments

7.24 As a councillor you may also be the person who is first made aware of unauthorised development and you might quite properly wish to refer the matter to the Council for possible enforcement action. Once the initial referral has been made to the appropriate department for investigation and any formal action, you should advise all subsequent enquirers to deal directly with the relevant officer, as you should not lobby for a particular outcome. This does not prevent you from seeking factual information about the progress of the case.