The statement of community involvement sets out how planning services intends to involve the local community in planning issues, including:

  • who will be consulted
  • when involvement should take place
  • which methods will be used.

Its purpose is to ensure active and continuous community participation in the planning process, whilst also making sure that the best decisions are made.

The council has updated its Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) and undertaken a consultation on the changes.

In summary, the SCI has been updated to reflect more digital forms of community engagement and simplified to include visual images rather than lengthy descriptions of planning processes both plan making and planning applications. The document also includes up to date contact details now that the Council has moved to its new offices in Petersfield. 

This new version of the SCI, that takes into consideration responses from the consultation, was adopted by Cabinet on 14 November 2024.