Consultation on your application
When your application has been registered as ‘valid’, we will publicise and consult on it.
Our policies for consultation on planning applications are set out within our Statement of Community Involvement. The extent of consultation is proportionate to the nature and scale of the development proposed and, depending on the type of application, we may consult using one or more of the following methods:
- Individual letters to neighbours.
- A site notice, usually attached to a lamp post or other fixture near to the site.
- Press adverts, such as in a local newspaper.*
*Please note - the council has recently changed the publication it uses for press adverts and these can now be found in the South London Weekly.
We may also consult specialist teams within the council, such as conservation and design, policy, transport, or environmental health, or, ask external organisations such as Historic England and Transport for London for their views on a development. If the site of the application is near the boundary of another London borough, we may also consult that borough.
Applications that require public consultation allow 21 days for responses to be submitted.
Anyone can submit comments on a current planning application, regardless of whether or not they were personally consulted, or if they live nearby.
When we assess applications, we can only take into account comments that concern relevant material planning considerations, and not those based on personal dislikes, grievances, non-planning issues associated with nuisance claims, or legal disputes, and so on.
Examples of material considerations can include:
- policies in the Local Plan
- government policy and guidance
- siting, design and external appearance of the proposed development (for example, the height or bulk in relation to neighbouring properties)
- loss of sunlight, daylight or outlook
- loss of privacy
- likelihood of undue noise, or fumes
- highway safety
- adequacy of proposed parking and access arrangements
- effect of additional traffic
- effect on listed buildings and conservation areas
- effect on trees
- landscaping and proposals for boundary treatment (walls or fences).
Examples of objections which are generally not planning-related and which will not normally be taken into account in our assessment of an application, include:
- effect on property values
- loss of a private view
- noise, disturbance or inconvenience resulting from construction works (this is covered by the Control of Pollution Act)
- boundary disputes (including party wall agreement issues)
- restrictive covenants (including rights to light)
- rights of way
- opposition to business competition
- applicant’s personal circumstances (unless these can be shown to be relevant in planning terms, for example, the provision of disabled facilities)
- opposition to the principle of development for which outline planning permission has already been granted.
Remedy for objections or complaints to a proposed development that are not planning-related should normally be sought under civil law rather than planning law.
Comments may be submitted online through our planning application database, by email to planning@lambeth.gov.uk, or in writing. When someone submits comments by email or letter, they must remember to quote the reference number of the application and their name and address.
We do not accept anonymous comments on applications, and any anonymous comments received will not be considered in our evaluation of an application. Please note that by law, comments made on planning applications are open to inspection by the public. When someone submits a comment, we will not publish personal details such as name, address and contact details on our website. However, please be aware that in certain circumstances, personal information may still become available to the public.
In the event of an appeal, comments and the addresses of those submitting will be sent to the Planning Inspectorate who operate independently of the council. We recommend that anyone submitting comments on a planning application reads the Planning Inspectorate’s privacy policy before making their comment.
In some circumstances, the personal information of those submitting comments may also be released under a Freedom of Information or Environmental Information request, but only where there is deemed to be a significant public interest in doing so.
We are committed to protecting your privacy. Find out more about the information that we collect, and your rights, by reading our privacy notice.