The Council have updated our Statement of Community Involvement following an 8 week consultation period that ran from 4pm on Friday 4 July 2025 to 4pm on Friday 29 August 2025.
A Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) is a document that sets out what consultation will take place when we are developing and reviewing our planning policy documents and determining planning applications. It also provides information as to how the Council will work with our partners and communities to facilitate proposals for neighbourhood plans or orders.
The full document can be viewed on our Planning Policy pages
This recent update to the SCI has resulted in some changes to the way in which we carry out wider public consultation on planning applications.
How we consult you and how to engage.
A few key highlights:
- Once a planning application has been registered and validated, the Council will record the application on the planning register and make the application available for inspection. All planning applications can be viewed on our Planning Register – Wealden District Council.
- If you’d like to comment on a planning application, please make sure your comments relate to relevant planning matters. Helpful guidance on how planning decisions are made, and what counts as a ‘material consideration’, can be found on the Government’s Planning Portal and the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) websites.
- The Council may use digital tools, including software assisted by artificial intelligence, to help summarise and analyse the themes within consultation responses and representations received. All information produced using these tools will be carefully reviewed by planning officers before being used. The Council will ensure that any such tools are used responsibly, in line with data protection legislation and our ethical standards.
In addition to the above:
- You can find out more about Keeping up to date on Planning Applications, including information on the Weekly List of Planning Applications, Press Adverts and Subscribing to alerts on applications.
- By registering for our free ‘Wealden Weekly’ email newsletter you will be notified of planning applications in your local area each week as well as the latest Council news. Notification using ‘Wealden Weekly’ is limited to a maximum of 3 applications and is restricted to a radius which is set by you so may not highlight all applications received over the last 45 days.
Register for Wealden Weekly here.