Renfrewshire Council

On this page:

• Who can comment on a planning application
• What we consider when deciding on an application
• How to comment on a planning application
• What happens next

Anyone can support or object to a planning permission application

Anyone can comment on a planning application, including individuals, groups, and organisations. You can support or object to a proposed development. The council refers to these comments as 'letters of representation'.

What we consider when deciding on an application

It is important to realise that we won't refuse an application because a lot of people object to it or approve an application because a lot of people are in favour of it.

Instead, we assess 'material considerations' when deciding on an application.

If you want to object to a proposed development, we'll only consider your objection if it includes material considerations.

Material considerations

Some examples of material considerations are:

• if the development is contrary to the development plan
• government circulars, orders, and statutory instruments
• previous planning appeals
• appearance (design, materials, scale, etc.)
• traffic, parking, and access problems
• residential amenity (overshadowing, overlooking, noise, odour, etc.)
• effect on the setting of a listed building or character of a conservation area
• loss of trees or landscaping issues
• risk of flooding.

Non-material considerations

Some examples of non-material considerations are:

• loss of a private view over someone else's property
• issues between neighbours such as land/boundary disputes, damage to property, or private rights of access
• loss in the value of your property
• fire hazard
• competition between shopkeepers and other businesses
• problems arising from the construction activity associated with proposed works, such as noise, dust, construction vehicles, or hours of working
• where no specific grounds of objection have been submitted.

How to comment on a planning application

If you wish to comment on this planning application (submit a letter of representation), the easiest and preferred method is via the online planning portal.

Once you've reached the planning portal, select Comments followed by Make a Comment to submit your response.

You can also comment in writing by sending your response to Development Standards Team, Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA3 9UW.

What happens after we receive your comment

We'll consider any comments we receive while preparing our report on the application, and we'll summarise your points in our report.

The decision on the application will be made by planning officers or by the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board.

Make sure you make any comments on time

If you want us to consider your comments as part of this review, you must submit a formal representation, as detailed above.

If you commented on this application during a pre-application consultation procedure prior to the submission of a formal planning application, we won't consider any comments from that stage as part of this planning application review.

If you want any comments you made at the pre-application consultation stage to be considered in the assessment of the planning application, you must submit them as detailed above.

Comments can't be anonymous

We can't discuss the merits of an application with you, and we can't respond to any questions included in comments (representations).

All comments must include a valid name and address. We won't consider anonymous comments.

All comments, including the submitter's name and address, will be publicly available on the online planning portal to view.