Rother District Council

Membership: Councillors B. Kentfield (Chairman), C.N. Ramus (Vice-Chairman), Lord Ampthill (ex-officio), Mrs M.L. Barnes, J.J. Carroll, R.V. Elliston, Mrs J.P. Gadd, Mrs B.A. George, Mrs J.M. Hughes, J.A. Lee, Mrs S.M. Prochak, S.H. Souster, D.W.L.M. Vereker, M.R. Watson and Mrs D.C. Williams.

Meeting Dates for the Current Civic Year

2012 - 21 June, 19 July, 23 August, 20 September, 18 October, 15 November and 
           13 December
2013 - 17 January, 14 February, 14 March, 11 April and 16 May

If you have any queries please contact Democratic Services on 01424 787814.

Planning Committee meetings commence at 9.30am with a break at 1.00pm or earlier, at the discretion of the Chairman.  Should there be any further business, the Committee will reconvene at 2.00pm or earlier as advised by the Chairman.  Planning Applications will be considered as the first item on the Agenda commencing with applications from Bexhill, Battle and Rye followed by the rural areas as set out in the report.

Code of Conduct

Councillors on the Planning Committee are subject to the Council's Code of Conduct.  This requires them to register certain interests and when considering individual planning applications to declare any interests they may have in relation to the application before them.  If the interest is both a personal and prejudicial interest they are required to leave the meeting during consideration of that item and may not take part in the discussions.  If the interest is just a personal interest they may participate in both the discussion and voting on that item.  For further information in this respect please see RDC Members Code of Conduct [PDF] [56kb].

It is equally important that Councillors on the Planning Committee do not come to the Planning Committee with a predetermined position on any planning application.  They are required under the common law on bias, to come to the meeting with an open mind and give consideration to all the relevant facts presented to them at the meeting.  This does not mean that a member cannot form an initial view in advance of the meeting, (that is being predisposed to a particular view point), but they must not come to the meeting with a closed mind and not be prepared to listen to the arguments of fellow members and the advice of the Officers.  For further information please see the document  Probity in Planning: the role of councillors and officers [PDF] [245kb].

This causes difficulty, because members of the public, action groups etc. not only ask Councillors to listen to their views, but also try to persuade them to commit for or against a Planning Application in advance of the meeting without understanding that if they do so they will be precluded from voting at the Committee.

Functions and Delegations

• Building regulations and Safety of Buildings and Premises
• Conservation and Listed Buildings
• Tree preservation and Planting
• Strategic highway and transportation issues

Urgency Sub-Committee Membership:

Members: Councillors Mrs J.P. Gadd, B. Kentfield and M.R. Watson

Substitute Members: Councillors J.A. Lee, C.N. Ramus and D.W.L.M. Vereker.

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