Responding to a planning application

Why respond to a planning application?

Development can cause serious harm to wildlife, but it does not have to. The right development in the right place, especially when coupled with biodiversity enhancements, can minimise the impact on the natural environment and the plants and animals it supports. Influencing a planning proposal is as much about promoting positive outcomes as it is about fighting harmful proposals – responding to planning applications gives wildlife a voice in the planning system.

What we do

At MWT, we will always stand up for local wildlife. Wherever possible, we respond to strategic planning applications, such as Local Plans, to ensure appropriate policies are in place. What’s more, wherever we are able to do so, we will comment on selected planning applications, where there is either potential for significant negative impact on wildlife or conversely an opportunity to make significant gains for wildlife. We will also provide advice to supporters and members of the public to enable them to comment on planning applications. Where projects are given planning permission, we will work to ensure the best possible outcomes for wildlife.

However, as a small charity with very limited resources we have to prioritise which planning applications we can respond to, necessarily focusing on those where the potential impact on wildlife is likely to be greatest. With an increasing number of planning developments with potential to have significant impact on wildlife in the pipeline for Montgomeryshire, added to the growing financial challenges faced by charitable organisations such as ours, it is becoming more and more difficult to respond to the proposals which require it.

What can you do?

This is where communities and individuals can play a vital role in the planning process. If you want to stand up for wildlife in your area, taking part in consultations and responding to planning applications is a fantastic way to do this.

While the response of a well-established wildlife conservation organisation will carry some weight with a local planning authority, public opinion often holds much greater sway, and indeed the system is set up to provide opportunity for the public to feed in. Local people are able to speak to members of their local community or to their MS – we are unable to do this because it is not appropriate.

Large developments, such as nationally significant Infrastructure projects, have many stages, including statutory and non statutory public consultations. As we have limited resources, we typically will only engage once a full application is submitted to the relevant authority, whereas a member of the public or a local group could engage at each stage.

Responding to a planning application step by step

1. Do your research

• What type of application has been submitted?
• What will the development look like? Plans and drawings will be available on the https://en.powys.gov.uk/article/64

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