Development Control

The main duties of the team are to determine a variety of planning applications which include householder, advertisements, change of use, listed buildings as well as large scale residential, commercial and industrial development schemes.

Other duties include:

• Providing a formal enquiry system to determine if planning permission is required
• Providing pre application advice to potential applicants
• Negotiating with developers and applicants on formal proposals
• Dealing with amendments to approved schemes
• Preparing and giving evidence on behalf of the Council during Appeals
• Consulting and liaising with other departments of the Council
• Representing the Council on external working groups and committees

Minerals and Waste

The Minerals and Waste team deal with all planning issues relating to mineral extraction (e.g. quarrying related activities) and planning issues relating to waste management facilities (e.g. landfill sites, waste transfer stations and civic amenity sites). The team also deals with planning issues for renewable energy schemes such as wind farm developments. In addition to the duties specified above for Planning Control the team also has the following duties:

• Monitoring of sites and investigation of alleged breaches of planning control relating to minerals, waste and renewable energy developments and taking formal enforcement action when it is expedient to do so
• Preparing and giving evidence on behalf of the Council for Enforcement Appeals and the Local Magistrates’ Court
• Representing the Council at a regional level on minerals and waste related matters

"Supplementary Planning Guidance – Minerals” was published in March 1996. It includes a range of detailed policies in relation to mineral works. It was approved by the Council for development control purposes associated with minerals until it is replaced by the new Unitary Development Plan, that will incorporate the whole county. Now, the Unitary Development Plan is a material planning consideration for development control purposes. In this sense, the Statement provides guidance to be read alongside the statutory development plans; namely the Gwynedd Structure Plan and the local adopted plans, as well as the Unitary Development Plan and the national planning guidelines included in the document, Planning Policy Wales, the Minerals Technical Advice Note (Wales) 1: Aggregates and Regional Technical Statement, which is to be published by the North Wales Regional Aggregates Working Party.

Enforcement

The Planning Enforcement team investigates complaints about alleged breaches of planning control. The types of alleged breaches of planning control investigated by the team include:

• Unauthorised building works 
• Unauthorised change of use 
• Breaches of advertisement control or planning conditions 
• Unauthorised works to Listed Buildings and buildings in Conservation Areas 
• Unauthorised works to trees either protected by a Tree Preservation Order or subject to planning conditions or within a conservation area 
• Untidy land which adversely affects the amenity of an area

In addition to the duties related to investigating alleged breaches of planning control, the team also has duties which include preparing and giving evidence for the Council in Enforcement Appeals and in the Local Magistrates’ Court.