Comment or object

Planning

If you want to comment or object to a planning application you must do so within 21 days of the formal notification date.

If you wish to discuss a Planning Application further please contact the case officer who can be contacted by calling 0300 123 4510. The Planning Team also provides access to a daily duty planner Monday to Friday 0930 – 1300 who can answer general questions. Please note that the duty planner may not be able answer case specific questions. 

For further advice on what you can comment on, what we can and can't take into account in reaching our decision and how to use our online Planning Service, please read the following sections.

What you can comment on in a Planning Application.

You can either ‘object to’, ‘comment on’ or ‘support’ any application and can do so on as many or as few grounds as you want to. The Council can only consider representations made on ‘material planning’ grounds, These include;

  • Amenity (e.g. noise, traffic, impact on sunlight or privacy)
  • Design (e.g. height of building, density of development, detailing and materials, or how the proposed development takes account of its surrounding)
  • Environmental Impact  (e.g. loss of trees or open space, flooding or impact on wildlife)
  • Policy (e.g. has the proposal taken account of the development plan)
  • Access (e.g. public transport access, adequacy of parking provision or cycle and footpath provision)

What you cannot comment on in a Planning Application.

There are some things which are not material grounds, and these cannot be considered by the Council. These Include:

  • Impact on property values
  • Lose of view
  • A private legal matter (such as land ownership) or
  • Commercial interests (including competition) and
  • Personal views about the applicant or the nature of their business.

What happens with Objections made.

The number of objections received to a planning application is noted; however it is the nature of the issues raised rather than the number of submission which will carry the most weight.

All representations are analysed and responded to as part of the determination process.

Further information on how planning applications are processed can also be found in our Planning Applications Toolkit.

Are Comments Visible?

Your comments and your name, will be made available in the planning office for inspection and copying by any interested party if requested. If an application goes to appeal, the Scottish Government may publish documents on their web site.

Planning comments cannot be made anonymously if they wish to be considered. 

Please Note, we do not display representations or objections to planning applications online.

How to use our online planning service

You need to register with the on-line planning service to make comments. You do not need to register to view current applications.

To make your comment go to the online planning service below and select 'Register' (if you haven't already) or 'Login'. Registering requires you to provide an email address that you can access.

Find the application that you are interested in by using the 'Search' screen (you can search by the planning application reference number or the address of the property) and select the 'Make a Public Comment' button to the right of the screen.