The business of deciding planning permission through democratically elected committees continues at Dorset Council. The council is using Microsoft Teams to conduct virtual meetings during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Councils were given new powers to hold public meetings remotely on 4 April.
The Cabinet, the Western and Southern Area and The Eastern Area Planning Committees have already been held virtually. Find the agendas for these meetings with a recording of the meeting.
The next meeting to be held in this way is the Northern Area Planning Committee which is being held at 10am on 14 May. See details of the agenda and reports with a web link to view the meeting.
And the Audit and Governance Committee will be held on 20 May at 10am view the agenda.
Planning applications that are being considered at Thursday’s meeting are:
- West of Shaftesbury Road at Land South of Gillingham, Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, Dorset – 2/2018/0036/OUT
- Land at Park Farm Kingsmead Business Park, Gillingham, Dorset – 2018/0077/OUT
And a traffic regulation order:
- Gillingham Road and Transport Improvements
Find out more about affordable housing in Dorset. Opening Doors is a Dorset Council initiative to tackle housing need with the aim of encouraging the construction of 20,000 homes by 2033.
Cllr Graham Carr-Jones, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing, said:
“It is important that during this pandemic we continue with democracy. It is vital for us to continue to consider planning applications and not delay the process so that we can tackle the need for appropriate housing.”
Cllr David Walsh, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Planning, said:
“As was agreed by all members when adopting the Dorset Council constitution, all applications which activate the trigger points for it to go before an Area Planning Committee, it will still do so. If there is a genuine reason, based on Material Planning Considerations for an application to go before Committee, it will.
“Where there are practical difficulties, we are making best use of technology to help us continue working on applications including, trees and listed buildings but in some cases we will have to delay decisions in line with government guidance; where the complexity of a site or application requires a detailed on site assessment which cannot be carried out at this time. It is imperative that we continue to deliver a planning service in the interests of managing the impact of Covid-19 on the economy.”
To watch the committee on an iPhone/iPad or android phone/tablet, you will need to download the Microsoft Teams app (available in the App Store or from Google Play).
Your device will be taken to the App Store/Google Play where you will be prompted to download the app. Follow the instructions to download and install. When the app is installed on your device, you will be prompted to open Microsoft Teams. You will then be able to watch the live event anonymously.
