Our refund policy
If you cancel a meeting, it's likely that a major portion of the your fee will not be refunded.
This is due to the need to cover the costs of carrying out background research and other preparatory work ahead of the meeting. However, we will try to accommodate requests to rearrange the meeting.
If we cancel the meeting, we'll arrange an alternative time. If the alternative we offer is not acceptable to you, the fee paid will be refunded in full.
Disclosing information on planning discussions
We do not automatically publicise details of planning advice discussions with potential developers until a planning application is submitted. At the application stage, the planning advice report is placed on the case file on our website.
If you want to withhold the planning advice report from publication, you need to provide justification. You need to take into account that under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, we're obliged to release information in the public interest unless exemptions apply. The exemptions only relate to commercially sensitive and confidential information.
It is therefore important that you bring to our attention at the outset and in writing, any information which you consider may, if disclosed, prejudice your commercial interests or which you consider would breach confidentiality. You should also set out the reasons why and for what period you consider the information falls into these categories. We will then decide whether we believe the information falls into these exempt categories.
It is also possible that we will receive requests for disclosure of planning advice reports before submission of an application and these will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
As set out above, disclosure will only be withheld if exemptions, such as commercially sensitive or confidential information, apply. We may also treat as exempt from disclosure information which, if disclosed, may prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs. This can be particularly relevant at the outset of major applications where a lot of exploratory discussion takes place.
If the disclosure of this exploratory information was likely to prejudice the process of leading to a proper determination of the subsequent planning application, then it may not be disclosed.
Apart from these exemptions, any other recorded information resulting from these planning advice discussions is very likely to be disclosed if requested.