Legality of a Committee Resolution - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)
Grŵp agored
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Wedi dechrau - Gorffenaf 2012
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Gweithgaredd diwethaf - May
Legality of a Committee Resolution
An application was recommended to Committee for approval with a number of conditions. During the committee, members requested an additional two conditions be added and resolved to approve the application. However the Council has not released the decision notice and officers now want to return the application to Committee as they are unsure as to the soundness of the additional conditions in Circular terms. However members were not advised of this at the committee. Therefore are the Council legally obliged to issue the decision in accordance with their committee's resolution? Or if it is referred back to the Committee can they make alternative conclusions on other matters contrary to their earlier decisions?
Everytime an application is voted permit by 11/3 members when the officer recommends refuse, the office automatically sends it to PARC. Is this allowed?
It has always been my understanding that the issuing of the planning decision letter constitutes the point at which the application is determined. On this basis it would be legal to refer the committees resolution back for further consideration of the conditions imposed in the light of legal advice. Certainly, I am aware of various authorities who have it in their standing orders that some committee resolutions should be referred upwards to a senior committee for ratification (as is presumably the case with Julie's authority). In other cases I know that, where the committee has been minded to grant permission subject to a section 106 agreement, and that agreement has not been signed after some time, the committee can review the application on its merits and may reach another decsion. As long as the committee have good reason for any alteration to their decsion or the conditions imposed, they would not be considered to have acted capriciously.
Thanks for your thoughts, I suspected it wasn't by definition unlawful though I guess it comes down to the reasoning for any deviation from the original decision, which we will find out in due course. I have seen court cases which both uphold and quash decisions made by the Committe which are in conflict to previous resolutions, and it effectively comes down to the justification and reasonableness of the approach. One for the Lawyers as is often the case! Regards