your Lancashire
Planning Register
About Us
Development Management Group
Our Aims
The Development Management Group is an integral part of the Environment Directorate to the County Council.
The Group controls, protects and regulates the use of land for minerals and waste management developments and the County Council's own operational development proposals through the processing of planning applications and provides guidance and assistance on proposals received by other authorities and agencies. This is to ensure that Lancashire is developed in a sustainable manner and in a way that promotes the economic, social and environmental well-being of the County. The service is also active in national, regional and local policy formulation to promote sustainable development.
The aim of this Charter is to inform all those interested persons, parties or organisations about the nature and quality of service they can expect from the Development Management Group.
Service and Quality
Service Aims
We aim to:
- Provide an efficient, balanced and professional
- Provide the service in a helpful, open and accountable
- Work with the people and communities of Lancashire, developers, other authorities, agencies and other Directorates of the County Council.
- Continually improve the quality of our service.
- Promote the sustainable development of Lancashire and the role of our service in that process.
- Commit the Development Management Group to the tenets of Best Value including an annual assessment of the Group's performance and procedures.
- Make the decision making process transparent and the decision makers accountable.
Service Objectives
- To manage the development of Lancashire through the development control process, implementing European, national, regional and Development Plan policies.
- To control mineral and waste management developments to promote sustainability and best environmental practice.
- To control the County Council's own operational proposals to achieve a high standard of development.
- To influence the development of local, regional and national policy to advance the economic, social and environmental well being of the County.
- To advise District Councils, the Environment Agency and other Government agencies on their actions which affect the development of the County.
The reason we are here
The nation's prosperity and quality of life depend upon the provision of essential minerals and facilities to manage society's waste. Minerals and waste management developments can be environmentally harmful and adversely affect local amenities. Their location and operation must therefore be carefully managed and maintained in the public interest.
Minerals and waste management developments can be long-lived and require regular monitoring to ensure the mitigation of environmental impacts. However, it is recognised that many operations provide opportunities for economic, social and environmental enhancement. The difficult balance between the provision of essential resources for society and the control of potentially harmful developments calls for a strategic overview. The Government has allocated this decision making process and responsibility to regulate these types of development to County Councils and Unitary Authorities.
The Development Management Group also processes planning applications for County Council developments, which include school extensions, the provision of new schools, development associated with Social Services, libraries and museums, the laying out of new highways, the erection of visitor and interpretation centres in country parks and improvements to the public rights of way network across Lancashire.
It is equally important that all planning decisions are consistent with the broad development strategy for Lancashire. The Group is consulted on strategic planning applications received by the District Councils and provides advice whether the proposal can be considered to comply with the Development Plan.
These technically complex challenges require a specialist team with a broad range of skills to process planning applications of this nature, to monitor and address any breaches of planning control associated with these developments and to provide specialist advice to the District Councils. The following sets out the service and standards users of the Development Control Group can expect.