Planning Committee

All local councils have a legal right to be notified of all planning applications within their parish/town and they also have a right to express their views (object, support or other comments) on the applications, to their local planning authority.  Ilkley Town Council is responsible for making recommendations on applications, and where appropriate, expressing an opinion on behalf of Ilkley residents about whether or not planning approval should be granted.

The Town Council Planning Committee meets once a month to carry out this task.  Members of the public are welcome to attend the meetings which are held in the Town Hall.  Please see the agendas below for further details. The minutes of each meeting are available on the website under the minutes section.  They and the agendas are also displayed on the Parish noticeboard outside the Town Hall.

The Town Council cannot approve or reject planning applications. The Town Council can only comment on planning applications in the same way that individuals can comment.

The planning authority for Ilkley Town Council is the Area Plans Panel of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (BMDC), which is a Committee of BMDC comprised of District Councillors. While the Planning Authority does not have to agree with Ilkley Town Council’s recommendations it must consider them before it decides to grant or refuse permission for the development.

The Town Council’s recommendations on a planning application should fit with statutory local development plans and other planning legislation, otherwise recommendations may be ignored by the Planning Authority.

Central to the decision making process are material considerations – issues that are, in law, material or relevant to a planning application. Such matters must be taken into account when making a recommendation on a planning application.

Personal feelings about the application, or the applicant, are not relevant. It is the wider public interest in respect of the planning application that is important.

The Planning Authority is responsible for development control; where development is managed through planning applications. The Town Council’s local knowledge, combined with sound understanding of the planning process, means that its views are then more likely to be heard by the Planning Authority, and will assist with the managed development of the parish.