Wind Farm Application,Turncole Farm, Southminister

It is then due to be determined at a special meeting of the Planning & Licensing Committee to be held on Monday 24th October, also in the Council Chamber, Princes Road, Maldon starting at 7.30pm. You can view the report here.

The Council offers a facility for public speaking at these meetings. This means that the opportunity will exist for members of the public who have made representations to address the Committee for a short period before the Committee considers and determines the particular application.

The Committee will be prepared to hear from one person objecting, one person supporting and also a representative of the relevant Parish/Town Council alongside the applicant or agent. There will be a fixed time limit of two minutes for each individual to speak by way of a statement; it is not the intention that the opportunity should be used to question Members or Officers of the Council or for an open discussion on a particular issue.  No opportunity will be given for any further public participation in the meeting.

It should be emphasised that this facility does not replace, but merely supplements representations in writing already received which will continue to be taken into account with equal weight in the decision-making process.  The opportunity to speak needs to be used with a degree of thought and preparation - some brief advice for participants is set out overleaf.

Anyone wishing to speak must make themselves known to either the Committee Clerk or a Planning Officer present at the meeting who will be available in the Council Chamber between 7.00pm and 7.20pm to take a note of requests.

Should a number of people wish to express substantially the same view, they will be invited to appoint a single spokesperson who may be able to cover all the points.; In the absence of agreement over this, and to ensure the efficient conduct of business, the Chairman of the Committee may decide to allow no public speaking at all.

Advice for participants

Please think about what you propose to say, and try to keep your statement brief and to the point. The Chairman will not allow comments he/she considers to be abusive, defamatory, discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate.

It will help the Committee to receive views that are relevant to planning issues such as:

• Impact on the character of the area
• External design, appearance and layout
• Impact on neighbouring properties
• Highway safety
• Planning policy and Government guidance

It will be unhelpful to the Committee to receive views on such issues as:

• Business competition
• Boundary disputes or private rights
• Speculation/developers' motives
• Moral arguments
• Matters dealt with under separate legislation