Issue - meetings

New procedure on dealing with late representations.

It was RESOLVED: That the Committee approved the new procedure on dealing with late representations as set out in the report.

The Development Manager presented a new procedure on dealing with late representations. He explained a number of Members had approached him with concerns that there was not sufficient time to assess and review the number of late representations that they were receiving. The aim was to introduce a cut-off point 2 working days before the Committee. This helped to avoid issues such as the repetition of comments and reduced the number of late representations. Between the cut off and the Committee date, late representations would only be accepted under special circumstances, such as facts that hadn’t been considered by Officers, concerns raised against the report, or other issues that the Committee had to be notified of.

A Member agreed this was a good policy to have and suggested there should be a practice so it can be amended where necessary. Another Member added that the beginning stage was crucial, and we needed to ensure representations had been sent out and contacted the people who wanted to have a point of view. The Development Manager advised that representations were sent in the post, if they had been informed of interested parties, they would keep people as informed as possible and ensured the agenda was posted. He added that if someone had missed the opportunity to comment but wanted to, the system was flexible and would factor in certain circumstances as it was important that everyone’s voice was heard.

It was RESOLVED: That the Committee approved the new procedure on dealing with late representations as set out in the report.