Search for planning application details and decisions and submit your comments on applications.
We seek involvement of the local community when making planning decisions. We can only determine applications based on their planning merits. The number of letters and emails that we receive may influence the way we handle an application. Numbers alone will not necessarily change the outcome though. Having one hundred objections with no good reasons does not carry as much weight as a single well-reasoned objection.
We must make quick, robust decisions. The Government sets the timeframes for different types of applications. The timeframes in which we must make a decision are:
The Government assesses our performance against these targets. We are not allowed to make decisions on planning applications within 3 weeks of receiving a valid planning application. This period is set aside for consultation. We can make decisions after 3 weeks. This means you need to comment on a planning application within the consultation period. This is nearly always 3 weeks. The earlier we receive comments the more likely they are to inform our decisions. We consider all comments received before we make a decision. There is a risk that comments received after the consultation period will have less influence on decisions. We may also not receive them until after we have made the decision.
We cannot accept verbal comments. This applies to comments either on the telephone or in person.
The easiest way to submit a comment on a planning application is by registering with Planning Online. This is our online database for planning applications. Registering also enables you to track the progress of an application. You will receive an email notification when we have made the decision. By law all comments received must be open to public inspection. They will be available for public inspection on our Planning Online database. Comments made online will appear immediately.
You must have a registered Planning Online account to comment on planning applications.
As with most websites, Planning Online will timeout after approximately one hour. Comments can often take longer than this to write. A good idea is to type it into something like Microsoft Notepad then copy and paste it into Planning Online.
We check all comments/representations. We may edit the version appearing online to make sure it complies with Data Protection legislation. We may also do this for safeguarding purposes.
We always keep copy of the original, unredacted comment for the case officer’s attention.
Planning Online is our webpage. Here you can:
To comment this way, you will need to set up an account first. Please see our guide to using Planning Online for further details
Comments submitted via Planning Online are plain text only. You cannot submit photographs or attach other documents. Comments with images and/or attachments should be e-mailed or posted to us. For security reasons we usually remove links to external webpages. They may contain copyrighted content and may be not verified.
By e-mail
You can email your comments to us. Include the application reference number in the subject line.
By post
You can use our comments form. This should make commenting in writing easier for you.
You can also send a letter to us at:
Planning Department
Town Hall
Castle Circus
Torquay
TQ1 3DR
Please put the application reference number at the top of your letter. Comments made by letter are usually available to view online within a few days of receipt.
Your name and postal address appear online by default. Signatures, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and social media handles will not appear. We exercise our judgement where there are personal/business webpage links. We recommend that you do not include these.
If you do not want your name and/or postal address to appear
Email or post your comment to us in a letter rather than using the online form. Clearly state you do not want your name and/or postal address to appear at the beginning of your message.
If we have no contact details for you, we can’t notify you later if there is an appeal against our decision.
What we redact and how
We pass the original copy of every comment we receive to the case officer without redaction. We do have to redact some types of content from the copy that appears online. When we do this, we replace the content that's removed with [redacted] or cover the content with a black patch. This depends on the method used to submit the comment.
We automatically redact:
We must also exercise judgement about a wide range of other content. We have a duty of safeguarding. Sometimes we will have to redact content that may not seem harmful to the casual reader. It may however have the potential to create issues elsewhere. We do not redact indiscriminately, and the intention is never to mislead or censor.
In some circumstances, we may decide to remove a comment from public view in its entirety. In these cases, we replace it with the words “Comment retained for the case officer”.
We redact comments without prior notice to the author. The case officer will always have access to the unredacted document.
Make sure your comment shows knowledge and is relevant to Planning Law
Make sure you have viewed the plans before you comment.
We only consider comments relating to planning issues. We remove any inappropriate or defamatory comments without prior notice. By keeping your comments to the point, you will help us identify your concerns.
Matters which are not relevant include:
Matters which are relevant include:
Further information:
We do not transfer comments from a previous application onto a current application. You will need to resubmit them.
The online commenting facility is not a forum for debate. Direct your comments to the case officer, not to other commenters.
Comment at the right time
You should make your comment before the date shown in the ‘Consultation Period to End On’ date in the record. Comments received after this date may be too late to take into consideration.
You can only comment on non-determined applications. If we have already made the decision this notice will appear:
"The public consultation period for this application has ended. We are no longer accepting comments from the public on this application."
Important advice if you have read about the proposed development in the local press
A proposed scheme often gets publicity in the local newspaper before it is submitted. Until we receive a formal application, we won't have any information available on our website. This applies even if the scheme has received front-page attention. Please limit your comments to proposed developments that have been formally submitted. If you want to learn more or provide feedback, you can check on the status of a submission by:
All planning applications are available to view via Planning Online. We also may use site notices, an advert in the local press and neighbour notification.
You should submit a petition under the name and address of the person that produced it. If you have arranged a petition, please ensure that upon submission it is clear:
This could assist us if we must notify the sender that the application has gone to appeal.
Petitions should also include an appropriate data protection statement. It should state that, once submitted:
Petitions will be available to members of the Development Management Committee. This will assist them in determining the application. We also scan petitions, and they will appear on Planning Online.
Please note that on Planning Online we will scan the whole petition. We list it as a single submission of a comment and display it as a petition of 'x' number of signatures. For information security purposes we redact:
Names and addresses of those who have signed the petition will be visible.
If you would like to submit a petition electronically please email it to us. Please quote the relevant application number.
We cannot accept petitions submitted using social media or other third-party services.