Contact the planning team

Ecology and biodiversity

The ecology team provide guidance and ecological advice to the council and its customers on; protected/priority habitats and species, policy, and climate change.

They ensure development achieves biodiversity net gain, and deliver numerous countryside management projects. They also work on other schemes to deliver the aspirations of the Nature Recovery Network with a vision of more bigger, better and joined up habitats.

Email the ecology team

Spatial policy and delivery team

The team create the local planning polies to which development management base their decisions, as well as monitor planning agreements and the community infrastructure levy.

Find out more about the spatial policy and delivery team and the services they provide.

Trees and arboriculture

The team provide guidance and advice on all things arboricultural including trees and hedgerows.They also support the development management team in this area. They determine applications for works to protected trees and hedgerow.

Find out more about the arboriculture team and the services they provide.

Contact the arboriculture team.

Urban design and conservation

The team advises the development management team on planning applications affecting historic buildings and conservation areas. 

They also provide urban design advice on planning applications relating to both large and small developments, as well as monitor the condition of the district's heritage.

Find out more about the conservation team and the services they provide.

Development management

The team is here to help with planning permissions and consents, including those needed for demolitions, works to listed buildings and the display of certain outdoor advertisements.

The team consists of 4 sub teams:

1. major projects
2. planning enforcement
3. planning applications
4. technical support

If you have questions or queries please view our planning web pages.

If you need further help please contact the team:

Duty planner

We operate a duty planning officer system each day for general non planning application related enquiries.

Please call us on 01543 308174 between 9am and 12.30pm with your general planning enquiry. A customer service advisor will assist you to find information and try to answer your query. If they are unable they will forward your details inc site and query to the planning team to arrange for a duty officer call you back. Call backs will be made within 1 working day.

Alternatively you can email the development management team directly.

If you need to speak to a specific officer regarding your application, please call them direct after 12.30 each day. Contact details for specific case officers will be sent to applicants and adjacent neighbours as part of the planning application consultation process.

Planning enforcement queries

We also deal with unauthorised developments through negotiation, and will also take enforcement action if needed. So if you do something which needs planning permission without obtaining permission first, you may be forced to put things right later. Go about it in the wrong way and the result may not just be an unlawful piece of building work, but a lot of unnecessary expense and frustration.

If you have a planning enforcement query, please call either 07773 650504 and 07773 149798. Alternatively, email us about planning enforcement.

Validation of a planning application queries

If you have a question about the validation of a planning application, please call either 01543 308179 or 01543 308176.

Other development management contact details

• Kerry Challoner (planning applications - team leader) - email Kerry
• Richard Sunter (householder and enforcement - team leader) - email Richard
• Jon Allinson (business support and performance officer) - email Jon