Cardiff Civic Society (CCS) has produced a planning guide to help communities fight inappropriate development that threatens their quality of life.

Communities are at a huge disadvantage when presented with a planning application.  They do not have the financial resources that a developer has access to in presenting their case.  Furthermore, communities have only 21 days from being notified of a planning application to submit responses.  This is a huge ask, as those objecting have a punitively small window in which to drum up local support, and put together their objection.

Many of the reasons people object to large and unsympathetic developments encroaching on their neighbourhood, are, confusingly, not considered to be valid in relation to planning.  These crucial ’material considerations’ are one of the elements published in the guide.

The current system is stacked against communities, but Cardiff Civic Society’s clear and comprehensive guide will help provide them with the best possible chance of winning the fight. Ultimately, however, we are lobbying for a fairer planning system, where the concerns of communities are given equal consideration to the demands of developers.