Role of the planning committee

Last updated: 2 July 2025

For larger or more controversial applications, the local planning authority’s (LPA) planning committee may determine a planning application instead of the planning officer. A planning committee is made up of elected councillors, often referred to as members. In National Park Authorities, the committee is made up of Welsh Government appointed members and local councillors nominated from the constituent local authorities. Details of the members of the planning committee are usually available on the relevant local authority’s website.  

There are various reasons which trigger a planning application to be decided by a planning committee, rather than a planning officer under delegated powers. These reasons will vary across different local authorities but commonly include (but are not limited to):  
 

• The number of neighbour representations received (contrary to the officer’s recommendation)  

• An objection from a statutory consultee (eg Natural Resources Wales or Cadw) 

• A request from a member of the council (ie an elected councillor) 

The planning officer is required to provide the planning committee with sufficient information to enable them to make an informed decision. They also give a recommendation to the planning committee on what decision the committee should take, based on their professional judgement and taking account of the views of any statutory consultees and other interested parties. This recommendation is set out in a written committee report, which is made publicly available on the LPA’s website a few days before the meeting.  

At the committee meeting, details of the application will be presented to the committee members by a planning officer, and supporters (usually the applicant or agent) and objectors are given the opportunity to address the committee. Following any questions and general debate, committee members then take a vote on the officer recommendation to either approve or refuse the application. Committee members also have the option to defer the application to a later meeting if they consider a site visit is necessary or if they require further information which is not available at the planning committee meeting. 

Planning committee meetings are open to members of the public so interested parties, such as neighbours, have the opportunity to speak briefly at the meeting to make their views known. If you feel passionately about a development proposal and want to highlight your concerns to the committee members it is a good idea to speak at a committee meeting – to do this you need to register with the LPA prior to the meeting. Registration usually takes place from the day the committee reports are published on the LPA’s website, until a day or two before the scheduled meeting (note that these timescales may vary between LPAs). 

Interested parties are given a limited amount of time to speak – usually a maximum of three minutes but this may vary across different LPAs. If more than one person wishes to speak either for or against the application, you will need to nominate a single spokesperson or split the time between all speakers. The committee members may ask you questions after you’ve spoken. Although you can’t ask questions directly to others during your speech, you can pose questions and the members can then decide whether to ask them on your behalf. 

When making their decisions, the planning committee must take into account:   
 

• National policies  

• Policies set out in the Local Development Plan  

• Other material considerations that can add to, or in exceptional circumstances outweigh, these policies (eg a change in local circumstances since the Local Development Plan was adopted)  
   

Only the planning committee can vote on the planning application itself. They do not always follow the planning officer's advice and may decide to balance conflicting issues and policies differently. 

A planning application should not be refused just because people oppose it, but in practice committee members are often influenced by strong or numerous local objections. However, if the LPA doesn't have sound planning reasons to refuse an application, this leaves them open to an appeal by the applicant and potentially their appeal costs. If an application is refused or granted subject to conditions, that decision must always be based on the plans submitted with the planning application and the policies in the LPA’s development plan.