Chelmsford City Council is updating how it lets people know about planning applications in the city, which will make it easier and fairer than ever for residents to find out about what’s happening in their area.
Outdated letters phased out
Until now, notification letters have been posted only to those who live next to an application site, which means that people often miss out on hearing about changes that may affect them.
Increasingly, this method of communication is becoming out of date and letters aren’t always getting to the right people. As we don’t know the names of people in a property, they have to be addressed to “The Occupier” and many people assume they are junk mail.
Others, who may want to know about a development but live a bit further away, aren’t informed. So, from September, these letters will be phased out and we won’t be sending this information by post.
Sign up online to receive tailored planning updates
So, if you’d like to find out about planning decisions that may affect you regardless of where you live, sign up on the Chelmsford City Council website. It’s easy to create your own tailored search to receive alerts every time an application is made that you may be interested in.
Check out this guide at www.chelmsford.gov.uk/planningonline to help you to set everything up, and unless you decide to change your alert criteria, you only need to do this once.
Yellow site notices will still be displayed
Although we’re switching from postal notifications, yellow notices will still be displayed in prominent locations at application sites to alert neighbours and other interested parties. These will also include QR codes which will link straight through to the application on the Council website.
If you’d like to view or comment on any planning applications submitted to Chelmsford City Council, just go to the public access portal on our website.
Alerts are really useful but letters remain essential. You won’t always have email addresses but you will always have postal addresses – how will people be notified, consulted and kept informed if you don’t have their emails?
Great for the digitally skilled but again its those who are not that will suffer. I had hoped Chelmsford City Council would be more sympathetic and respectful but it seems it is following the rest of the public sector and the banks in assuming we all live our lives online. Please dont just consider the majority but also that increasingly deprived group who cannot or choose not to live life in a computer chip.