Planning

Thinking about building or tree works?

If you live in the parish and are thinking about any works to your house, beyond routine maintenance, you are likely to need permission because most of the parish is in a conservation area. This means that even most work to trees (cutting back, reducing height etc) also requires permission. You can follow this link to find out more: Do I need planning permission for works to my house or for structures in my garden?

It is well worth checking your particular planning situation because you can be compelled to remove unauthorised structures or face prosecution for tree works, listed building works or any other works that change the appearance of the village and that are carried out without proper permission.

Interested in planning matters in your village? 

The Parish Council is a statutory consultee for local planning applications.

This means that the Planning Authority (West Suffolk Council) sends details of planning applications made within the parish to the Parish Council and invites the Council to submit its comments, objecting or supporting the applications. Some types of planning application (mainly agricultural) do not require the Parish Council to be consulted.

Ultimately, planning permissions are granted or refused by the Planning Authority, not the Parish Council.  

Any individual or organisation may object to or support applications by using the Planning Authority's planning portal (opens new window), where you can view current and past planning applications. If you do not have the full details of the property in which you are interested, simply use the Key Word field to enter the name of the village concerned, and then click SEARCH to view the results.