Development proposals submitted by, or affecting Elected Members and Officers
21.1 Proposals to their own authority by serving Elected Members and Officers and their close friends and relatives can easily give rise to suspicions of impropriety. Proposals can take the form of either planning applications or Development Plan proposals, or may involve planning enforcement. It is perfectly legitimate for such proposals to be submitted. However, it is vital to ensure that they are handled in a way which gives no grounds for accusations of favouritism.
21.2 For planning proposals submitted by Planning Officers and Elected Members they shall proceed to determination before Planning Committee, subject to the following principles:
- Serving Elected Members and Planning Officers who submit their own proposal to the authority they serve should play no part in the decisionmaking process for that proposal
- Such proposals should be reported to Committee and not dealt with by the Director of Neighbourhoods and Regulatory Services under delegated powers
- The Council’s Monitoring Officer should be informed of such proposals by serving Elected Members, and the Officers report to the Committee will show that the applicant is an Elected Member
- Elected Members and Planning Officers should never act as agents for people pursuing a planning matter within the Borough
- The Officer concerned should have no involvement with the determination of the application
21.3 For proposals submitted by, or on behalf of, other Council Officers or close relatives and friends of Officers or Elected Members involved with the development management process:
- The Officer concerned will have no involvement with the determination of the application
- The application, if it accords with the scheme of delegation, shall be determined in consultation with the Chair or Vice Chair of the Planning Committee
21.4 Where a planning proposal directly affects the property or personal interests of an Elected Member, she/he should play no part in the decision-making process. This would apply, for example if an Elected Member submitted comments, as a neighbour, on a planning application.
21.5 Similarly, an Officer should have no involvement in processing a planning proposal which directly affects her/his property or personal interests.