Which reinforces the fact that there seems to be absolutely no reason for a special meeting just days in advance of the first communication from the Planning Inspector – due by 31 March 2014.

Taken from a comment on claire-wright.org by Rose Pengelly:

OUTLINE PLANNING APPLICATION 13/0001/MOUT – OLD PARK FARM
East Devon District Council have accommodated this Special Development Management Meeting to consider an Outline Planning Application not in the Local Plan and is making an attempt to fast-track a decision.

The Councils reason made in a statement to the press are not true, this is what the guidelines say Determining a planning application:

What are the time periods for determining a planning application?
Paragraph: 001 Reference ID: 21b-001-20140306

Once a planning application has been validated, the local planning authority should make a decision on the proposal as quickly as possible, and in any event within the statutory time limit unless a longer period is agreed in writing with the applicant.

The statutory time limits are usually 13 weeks for applications for major development and eight weeks for all other types of development (unless an application is subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment, in which case a 16 week limit applies).

Where a planning application takes longer than the statutory period to decide, and an extended period has not been agreed with the applicant, the Government’s policy is that the decision should be made within 26 weeks at most in order to comply with the ‘planning guarantee’.

Revision date: 06 03 2014
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What is the Government’s ‘planning guarantee’?

The planning guarantee is the Government’s policy that no application should spend more than a year with decision-makers, including any appeal.

In practice this means that planning applications should be decided in no more than 26 weeks, allowing a similar period for any appeal.

The planning guarantee does not replace the statutory time limits for determining planning applications.
Revision date: 06 03 2014