New way of getting public feedback on planning

Harborough District Council is launching a new online consultation system which will help keep the public informed about the preparation of the new Local Plan for Harborough and related documents and encourage them to make their views heard.

It will be easier to use, faster, and will allow people to see other comments which have been made.

It will be used for the first time next month – from 19 September 2014 – to seek public opinion on the updated Statement of Community Involvement (SCI).

The SCI sets out how the district council will involve local communities in the preparation of the new Harborough District Local Plan and other strategic planning documents. This includes deciding how many and what types of houses will be needed in the future, where they should be built, what types of new jobs are needed and where new community facilities are needed. It also sets out standards for how the Council will involve local residents in making decisions on planning applications for all kinds of development.

Training is being offered to parish councils to help introduce them to the new way of consulting.

Cllr Phil King, Harborough District Council’s portfolio holder for planning said: “Commenting online has a number of advantages – it is the fastest and most accurate method and it will help us to manage representations quickly and efficiently. It will allow respondents to draft and review their comments before submitting and residents will be able to view the comments of others.”

People will need to register online before submitting comments via the new system.