Formal approval from Scottish Borders Council (SBC) is required for most forms of development, whether individuals want to: alter or extends a house or flat, or erect a building within the garden or change the use of land or buildings etc.
Applications for small developments will normally be decided by the SBC planning officers through delegated powers.
More complex or controversial proposals are likely to be decided by the SBC’s Planning and Building Standards Committee, which consists of elected councillors. If a planning application goes to committee there is an opportunity for objectors and the Community Council to make a short verbal presentation to this committee (see public speaking protocol).
If a planning proposal is for a major or national development there also needs to be a pre-application consultation with the community usually via the community council, who should receive details of the proposal and consult the wider community using at least one locally advertised public event.
The law sets out that community councils are statutory consultees in two scenarios:
- where the community council, within 7 days of either receiving information about an application or its online publication, informs SBC that it wishes to be consulted; and
- where the development is likely to affect the amenity of the community council’s area (conservations areas, listed buildings, proposals likely to cause significant impact, etc)
SBC must give the community council at least 14 days to consider the application before they determine the application. Ideally the community council should be routinely kept informed on the status of all active applications from initial submission through to determination.
Our community council has nominated a member to act as the planning officer on behalf of the community council. You can email the planning officer here. The planning officer informs the community council of all applications where a response has been requested by the Scottish Borders Council and responds accordingly.
