Introduction
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (TMBC) want to encourage more people to engage in planning for the future of the borough. We understand that in order to try and build consensus with local communities on how the borough should evolve over time, people need to be given the opportunity to be involved in the planning process from the earliest stages.
The Council has prepared this Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) to make sure that we effectively engage our stakeholders and communities in both the development of local planning policy and in decisions on planning applications, by setting out how and when people can contribute.
The requirement to produce a SCI was first introduced in Section 18 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended), and we adopted our first SCI in July 2005, and then a subsequent version in February 2015. However, since this time there have been several changes to the planning system including revisions to permitted development rights, some of which were introduced to increase the supply of housing, as well as in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, to provide more flexibility for retail uses. Therefore, we have taken the opportunity to update this document to reflect recent changes as well as developments in best practice and advances in digital technology.
Sometimes there are circumstances which are beyond the Council’s control (such as the Covid-19 pandemic), which may result in variation to the engagement methods set out this document, for example national or local lockdowns could prevent in person events taking place. Notwithstanding we are committed to ensuring that community views are heard as far as is practicable and in compliance with Government guidance.