Planning consultation

Planning policy and transport policy consultations

Planning policy mailing list

Sign up to MySouthwark and opt in to receive planning policy consultation updates on your profile, including on the Southwark Plan and the Old Kent Road Area Action Plan.

How to set up a MySouthwark account

  1. Open the MySouthwark weblink
  2. Click on the green 'Register' button
  3. Answer the questions to create your account 
  4. Select 'Planning Policy Consultations' in step 4 to receive our latest updates
We want to engage with the business community in the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area. Find out more about how you can tell us your thoughts about the Old Kent Road.

How we consult on planning applications

We're working on improving statutory consultation in development management, to make it more accessible and easier to understand. This will make it easier for you to have your say on development management in Southwark. Find out more about how to comment on a planning application and view our Planning Register. 

What types of consultation are we required to do for planning applications?

For planning applications that are for minor developments, we're required to:

  • publish the application online
  • display a site notice on or near the site, or notify neighbours by letter

For planning applications that are for major developments, we're required to:

  • publish the application online
  • advertise in the local press
  • display a site notice on or near the site, or notify neighbours by letter

For planning applications that require an environmental statement, are a departure from the development plan, or affect a right of way, we're required to:

  • publish the application online
  • advertise in the local press
  • display a site notice on or near the site

How we consult in exceptional circumstances

Sometimes it's not possible for us to carry out consultation in the ways set out above. When this happens, we will follow the steps below.

For planning policy consultation

We will:

  • follow national guidance
  • make sure that all the documents we're consulting on are available on our website; if you do not have internet access and our council offices are closed, then you can ask us to send a hard copy of a document to you
  • advertise the consultation through MySouthwark, council social media, and a newspaper notice; we will also notify our statutory consultees
  • make an online survey available so that as many people as possible will have access to the consultation
  • hold virtual meetings between planning officers and members of the community; we recognise that consulting without face-to-face workshops or interactive events is not ideal
    • this option allows us to continue to provide housing and employment groups and community spaces in Southwark with up to date plans and policies

For planning application consultation

We will:

  • follow national guidance
  • we will allow a formal consultation period of 21 days to give members of the community time to comment on a planning application.'
  • if planning officers cannot go on site to put up a site notice, then we will send letters to people who live close to the site or a site notice will be put up by the applicant
  • if a planning officer cannot carry out a site visit, they may ask the applicant to carry out a virtual site visit and to take photos from specific areas of the site
  • use satellite photography to assess the site

Our Development Consultation Charter sets out what type of consultation you can expect from a developer in exceptional circumstances.

What we are doing to make our consultation process better

We've recently made improvements to the design of site notices and decision notices. Site notices are now easier to spot on the street, and contain less information so you can see the most important details more quickly. We have updated decision notices to make them easier to understand by removing jargon, and being really clear about what our decision is. 

We will continue to encourage developers to carry out their own consultation for major schemes before they submit a planning application. You can find out more about developer consultation in our Statement of Community Involvement. 

We're currently making digital improvements to how we consult on planning applications. These include:

Page last updated: 07 March 2024

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