The Media
23.1 The principles of this Code also apply to press contact. Elected Members and Officers when commenting to the media on planning matters should:
- have regard to the points made in the section on lobbying (Section 8);
- ensure that they do not give the impression that they have predetermined or pre-judged (as opposed to a pre-disposition) the planning application;
and;
- make clear that Elected Members will retain an open mind until such time as the full facts are available and these are debated by the appropriate Committee;
- for delegated applications, make clear that the Director of Neighbourhoods and Regulatory Services or his appointed representative will retain an open mind until such time as the full facts are available and presented for decision
23.2 Any Officers can provide facts about a planning matter which are in the public domain and available to the media. However, the media should be referred to the Communications and Marketing Team who will liaise with the appropriate officer for attributable comments.