The Planning Department has a variety of roles as a service to the community and deals with the following areas:

• What is the Planning Portal? The Planning Portal lets you submit planning Applications Online and also provides all the information you need to complete a Planning Application.
• Do I need Planning Permission? Find out if your property needs Planning Permission or download a A Guide for Householders Here.
• Development Control (The Processing of Planning Applications)
• Building Control (Ensuring that building works comply with the Building Regulations and Building Acts)
• Conservation and Environment (Matters concerning buildings and the Natural Environment)
• Development Control Committee (view the minutes, agendas and reports)
• Enforcement The Department does receive many complaints about development taking place without planning consent or contrary to a condition of a planning consent. These complaints will be investigated and, where appropriate, enforcement action initiated to resolve the problem.
• Land Charges (Searching Land and Property for restrictions and legal obligations)
• Planning Policy/Local Plan (Provides policies to guide and encourage future development)
• Online Mapping (A great resource tool for our customers)

• Download the 1App National Planning Application Forms and Guidance Notes

• Customer Satisfaction Survey

It is a wide variety of factors and issues that affect our living environment:

• Social factors (e.g. education and training, building local communities, reducing crime and fear of crime)
• Economic factors (e.g. standard of living, trade, competitiveness)
• Environmental factors (e.g. biodiversity, pollution, litter, waste)

These issues combined form the foundations of the term Sustainable Development and this is defined by the United Nations as: "the ability of the present generation to meet their own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

To improve the living environment or quality of life in the district, the Council needs to balance economic, social and environmental factors in all areas of its work.

Achieving Sustainable Development can therefore be said to require economic and social development at minimal cost to the environment.

Click here for more information on Sustainable Development.

Meeting these aims is not an easy task, but the Council is putting a variety of measures in place to ensure that the issues of Sustainable Development are considered in the decision making process.