Terms of reference
PURPOSE
The purpose of the Forum is to offer comments to the Borough Council and others on planning matters. It does this in three ways:
- In fulfilment of the Civic Society’s role as a formal consultee of the Borough Council Planning Committee, the Forum offers comments on a selection of planning applications submitted to the council. The Forum may from time to time arrange meetings with developers of major schemes at pre-application stage to seek to influence the design of important developments. Schemes selected by the forum for consideration will generally be those that are deemed likely to have a significant impact on the town and/or generate public interest and/or of architectural interest. The selection process will be at the sole discretion of the Forum, which has developed criteria – click here to see our selection guidelines – to guide it in selecting applications to examine. Schemes will be assessed against the criteria (a) that they maintain or enhance the special architectural qualities of Cheltenham and its environment and/or (b) in the case of new developments or additions to existing ones, that they constitute good design, noting that the Forum has no predetermined preference for any particular architectural style.
- To assist the Society by commenting on planning policy issues and responding to consultations. While these will include those where the Borough Council requests a formal view, they may also include policy initiatives under discussion at the county and national levels which could affect the planning of Cheltenham and where the Society has experience to offer. It may also suggest planning policy initiatives to the council where the need arises out of the Forum’s consideration of planning applications.
- On occasion, the Forum may itself assist the Society by promoting planning solutions to particular sites in the town. This will be done very selectively, having regard to the importance of the site and the potential for the Society to influence change.
STATUS
The Planning Forum is a sub-committee of the Trustees of Cheltenham Civic Society.
The Forum is independent of the Trustees to the extent that it is not required to take a particular view on any scheme or type of scheme.
The Forum is also a formal consultee to the Planning Committee of Cheltenham Borough Council ¹.
¹ We are non-statutory consultees. As such, our objection to a scheme is likely to mean that it is referred to the planning committee rather than decided by officers; also our comments are recorded in the ‘Consultee Comments’ tab on the planning portal rather than under ‘Public Comments’; and they should be recorded in the Planning Officer’s report.
MEMBERSHIP
There shall be at least four and no more than twelve members. At least one member shall be a member of the Trustees and shall be responsible for representing the Planning Forum at meetings of the Trustees as necessary. Planning Forum members must be members of Cheltenham Civic Society. The Forum may establish sub-groups to address particular tasks and may co-opt other members of the Society to assist such groups in their work.
The Forum shall seek to include include at least one member with a professional qualification – i.e. an architect, a planner, a landscape architect, a surveyor. Other relevant professional qualifications are welcome, but the Forum is not only for professionals: its members should include members of the Society who care about Cheltenham, have a good knowledge of the town and seek the best quality planning decisions.
Tenure of individual members is reviewed every four years. Only in exceptional circumstances and with the agreement of the Civic Society Trustees should members serve more than two consecutive terms.
Any member of the Trustees or member of the Society may attend a meeting as an observer, subject to the prior agreement of the Chair of the Planning Forum.
The Chair will be appointed by the Trustees. One member of the Forum will act as its Secretary. Members are invited to join the Planning Forum by the Chair of the Planning Forum and are invited to attend as observers of meetings in the first instance.
WAYS OF WORKING
Meetings will normally take place every month, with a minimum of 8 meetings annually. Meetings of the Planning Forum are spaced to be able to submit its comments in sufficient time to the appropriate published schedule for the Council to determine applications.
Before each meeting the details of the planning applications to be considered will be circulated to Planning Forum members and to the Trustees to enable them to offer comments before the meeting.
The comments made on individual schemes will be circulated to the Council and the Trustees. They will also be made available to the public on the Society’s website.
