Basic Guide to making a comment or objection on a planning application
If you become aware, as an individual, of a planning application that causes you concern the first thing to do is to make a note of the postcode of the application site. If you are alerted to the application by a notice displayed on the site, that notice will provide you with an application number.
Apart from applications for mineral extraction and associated activities and applications to do with recycling of waste, waste treatment and waste disposal, all planning applications in and around Hertford are dealt with by the East Herts Council.
To examine the details of an application type “East Herts Council” into Google (click), on the EHDC Home Page scroll down to the yellow box with the heading “Planning and Building.”
- Click on the line reading “Object and Comment on Applications”
- On the page that will be displayed Click on the brown line that reads –
- Object, Comment or View a Planning Application online using Planning Public Access
- This will lead you to a screen titled “Planning – Simple Search”
- Type the word “Current” into the box annotated Status
- Type the post code or application number into the box annotated “Enter a keyword, …”
- The display will provide the application number and a description of the Proposal
- Below the description of the proposal a line of boxes includes “Make a Comment”
- Click on this box when you are ready to type out your comment, representation or objection.
- Fill in on the display your name, postal address, telephone number and email address.
- Indicate your “Commenter Type” (e.g. ”Member of the Public”)
- Also indicate your “Stance” – Object / Support / Neutral
- A “BOX” is provided below the “Stance” line for you to type in your comments,
- representations or objections.
In deciding your views to put forward to the Council you will need to study the details of the application.
Scroll back to the Application Number and details of the proposal. The second line below these includes a tab labelled “Documents”. Click on this tab.
The resulting display will list the documents.
In order to study any of the documents click the small box on the left-hand side of the document title (resulting in a green tick) and click on the “View” icon on the right of the document title.
Documents of particular interest are likely to be the Application Form, the Location Plan, the Existing and Proposed Block Plans and Existing and Proposed Floor Plans and Elevations.
Other documents that should be studied are the “Design and Access Statement” and any correspondence submitted with the application (by or on behalf of the applicant).
Once submitted your views will included amongst the documents associated with the application.
Your comments, representations or objections should take into account and refer to the planning policies of the Council contained in the Adopted East Herts District Plan 2018.
The document containing these policies can be accessed and studied by typing “East Herts District Plan” into Google.
Of particular relevance to any planning application in or near Hertford will be Part 1 Chapter 7 “Hertford (HERT Policies)” It is important to examine the detailed and precise wording of the Policies.
Different Chapters in Part 2 will be relevant depending on the subject of the Planning application (e.g. housing, retail, transport, community facilities, leisure and recreation) on which you are submitting comments, representations or objections.
Other Part 2 Chapters should be taken into account in your comments including Design and Landscape, Natural Environment, Heritage Assets, Environmental Quality.
Broader topics covered in Part 2 Chapters that should be taken into consideration by an individual commenting on a planning application are Economic Development, Climate Change and Water.
