The basic message is - don't leave it too late. Here are five handy hints:
1. Talk to the person making the application - they might be willing to make changes that meet your concerns. If they don't then you can show that you have tried, and that may help if later on you are trying to get others to support your objections.
2. It takes time to arrange a planning officer visit to the site, given the number of planning applications going on. So if you aren't getting any joy on this, let me know and let the parish council clerk know too. That's what I'm here for as district councillor and the parish council view is also one that the district planners have to take into account.
3. Make sure your objections have been lodged with the district council - copy them to me and to the parish.
4. Find out when the matter will be considered by the parish council and attend that PC meeting and ask the clerk in advance that you want to speak. Prepare for this. Remember the applicants might be there too!
6. Do some research on the web. Set out what your objections are, and link them to "material" considerations in planning law such as an increase in the size of a house above a certain percent, or your loss of amenity such as light, of the impact on the visual amenity of the road.
Take pictures, as it can really help illustrate your concerns.
Most planning applications are decided by professional planning officers at the district council. If we want a matter to go to the planning committee of the district council, to be decided by councillors, there needs to be a specific and good reason, and it helps if the parish council is also opposed (see point 3 above). If you are successful in getting to the committee you may - at the discretion of the chair - get three minutes to set out your objections, though usually it is the parish council and your district cllr who do that for you.
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