PLANNING
The latest planning applications submitted to Somerset West & Taunton Council and Somerset County Council
THE PARISH COUNCIL'S ROLE IN PLANNING
Town and parish councils are not Planning Authorities. Town and parish councils are only statutory consultees in the planning process, which in practice means that they only have the right to be informed of planning applications within their parish.
The Parish Council cannot approve or reject planning applications.
They can only comment on planning applications in the same way that individuals can comment. Consequently the length of time taken to determine a planning application is governed by the local planning authority not the parish council.
A parish council can request that it be given extra time to comment on an application. The decision whether this is granted rests solely with the planning authority and it’s own deadlines for decision making.