Meetings of the Planning Committees are held in public except where confidential information is being discussed. The agenda of the meeting will identify whether any meeting or part of the meeting is not open to the public and explain why.
Members of the public are encouraged to participate and may speak to the council directly on any application on the agenda.
Where a meeting is open to the public, any person may attend to observe a meeting but if you wish to speak you will need to register in advance. Please see the information below.
Registration opens when the agenda is published, usually midday on the Wednesday in the week before the meeting, and closes at midday on the Tuesday in the week of the meeting.
(Example: if the meeting was being held on Thursday 14th of the month, the agenda would be published on Wednesday 6th of the month. Registration would close at midday on Tuesday 12th of the month.)
Speaking places are allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis.
To register, you must provide:
- Your name
- Your address
- Your contact telephone number
- Your relationship to the application site (e.g. the applicant or a neighbour)
- The application number of the item you wish to speak on
- Whether you are speaking in favour or against the application
- Whether you will attend in person or online
Contact Democratic Services to register: democraticservices@wealden.gov.uk or 01892 602720
At Majors Planning Committee there may be up to 3 speakers in favour plus 3 speakers against the application, each speaker will have up to 3 minutes to address the committee.
At Minors Planning Committee there may be up to 2 speakers in favour plus 2 speakers against the application, each speaker will have up to 2 minutes to address the committee.
A reserve list will be kept if a particular application is oversubscribed. If a registered speaker withdraws their request more than 24 hours before the start of the meeting we will do our best to contact the speakers on the reserve list.
Speeches should be in the form of a statement, members of the committee may not answer questions or get into debate with you.
Aggressive or abusive language will not be tolerated. The Chair may remove you from the meeting and you will loose your right to speak.
The order of the agenda may change depending on the nature of the items on the agenda and the number of registered speakers. Any changes will be announced at the start of the meeting. Please be aware that you may have a long wait depending on where your application is on the agenda. Regrettably we cannot provide fixed time slots for the application as each item is given as much time for questions and debate as is required before moving on to the next item.
While every effort is made to provide an online service please note that we can’t guarantee it. The Council is not responsible if the service is down due to factors outside our control.
Once registered you will be sent a link to join the online meeting. We use Microsoft Teams, you will need to be able to use this on your own device.
You will be able to join the online meeting 15 minutes before the start of the meeting in order to test your kit if you wish. Please note that we will not be able to provide IT support if something is not working.
Please join the meeting at least 10 minutes before you are due to speak, you will miss your opportunity to speak if you are not online when it is your turn.
When you join the meeting your microphone and camera will be deactivated. We will enable your microphone and camera when it is time to speak. When called by the Chair you will be able to turn on your microphone and camera.
Your microphone and camera will be deactivated again after you have spoken but you can remain online to observe the remainder of the meeting.
When appearing on camera, please remember:
- Your sound and video will appear on the webcast via the council’s website and a recording will be available for a year after the meeting.
- Be aware of your background:
- we recommend that no personal or private articles are in view unless you accept that these will be seen in public
- there must be no offensive, lewd or derogatory images or slogans in view
Registered speakers should arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start of the meeting and check-in at the desk.
If you arrive late or are not present when you are called, unfortunately you will miss your opportunity to speak.
Meetings can be long. Pleased be advised that no refreshments are provided, you may bring your own provided they do not disrupt proceedings. Accessible toilets are available.
No banners or placards will be permitted in the meeting room and good order must be maintained, all attendees have the right to attend without intimidation.
Meetings of the Planning Committees are held in public and may be webcast, a recording of the webcast will be available after the meeting on the council’s website for up to one year.
Any third-party may also record or film meetings, the council is not responsible for third-party recordings. Any person wishing to record a meeting is requested as a courtesy to others to advise the Clerk before the meeting.
By attending a meeting, either online or in person, you may be recorded by the council or a third-party.