Comment on an application
You can take an active part in decisions that affect you and your community. Anyone is entitled to comment on a current planning application either to support or object.
Our planning officers have to follow a strict legal procedure to make sure that any planning applications and your comments are considered fairly and within the legal guidelines set by the government.
Before you comment on a planning application
If you are thinking of commenting on an application, it is important that you are aware of the following.
1. Confidentiality Please be aware we cannot fulfil any requests for confidentiality. If you make a comment on an application it will be publicly available to other interested parties and your name, address* and stance on the application will be displayed on the Authority's website.
2. Anonymity. If you do not want your name and address published or do not provide both a name and postal address, your comment will be treated as anonymous and will not be published. The name and address of those making representations is crucial in enabling the Authority to establish who and where representations come from so that comments can be given appropriate weight and for transparency in the decision making process. Any anonymous representations will be given limited or no weight in deciding the application.
3. Valid reasons for objecting By law, we cannot take into account certain reasons for objecting. To make sure your comment is taken into account, please see our guidance on reasons for objecting.
4. Impartiality
It is our policy not to forward lobbying letters on your behalf to committee members. To be fair to everyone, there are no exceptions to this policy. We forward all comments to the planning officer who is responsible for an application and for writing the final report.
*If you have any concerns regarding the publication of your name and address then please contact us to discuss.
Write to us
You must make your comment in writing for it to be taken into account. You can do this in three ways:
- You can comment online using the planning search tool (form at the bottom of an application).
- You can email planning.service@peakdistrict.gov.uk.
- You can write to:
Peak District National Park Authority
Aldern House
Baslow Road
Bakewell
Derbyshire DE45 1AE
Please remember to quote the application reference number (e.g. NP/DDD/9999/1234).
Speak at a committee
If a planning application is going to be considered by our planning committee, the authority’s public participation scheme allows anyone who requests to speak at the meeting to make their points directly to the people who make the decision (called the members).
You can ask a question, make a statement or hand in a petition on any item on the committee agenda. You will be allocated a time slot of three minutes and you may be asked questions about what you say.
You need to make a request by 12 noon two working days before the meeting by contacting Democratic Services by telephone on
- See a list of planning committee meetings.
- Find out more about public participation at meetings.
Impartiality of the decision-makers
You have the right to contact any of the Authority’s members about any aspect of our work. However, the people who make the decisions on planning issues must remain impartial. They have to make sure that they are not influenced in any way by one party or another. To do so might lead to an application being deferred or a decision challenged.
If members receive any information about an application, they are legally obliged to inform the planning officer responsible for writing the final report. The planning officer is responsible for making sure that all information received is summarised and included in the final report. If a member’s impartiality is compromised, they may have to declare a personal prejudicial interest and withdraw from the decision-making process.
What happens once a decision has been made?
- Further to the revision of our Statement of Community Involvement, copies of decision notices will only be sent to the applicant or agent and those who are included on Certificates A, B or C as submitted with the application. Decision notices are published with the application on our website. This change is to streamline our process and use our limited resources more efficiently and will be effective from 1st November 2023. Please contact our Customer and Democratic Support Team on
01629 816200 or by email to customer.service@peakdistrict.gov.uk if you require assistance regarding this change. - Decision notices are usually available on our website within three working days.