Planning Committee

The Planning Committee's main task is to review planning applications, and to monitor building and environmental developments in and around the town.

The Environment Advisory Group is a new community led project to develop plans to meet the Climate Emergency carbon targets and to maintain a watching brief on environment issues across the Council.

The Town Council is a statutory consultee on planning consent applications and is also involved in District and County Structure Plans.

East Suffolk Council (ESC) decides on planning applications based on planning law, their own Local Plan and the Framlingham Neighbourhood Plan (which has legal status for planning in Framlingham). ESC is also obliged to consult Framlingham Town Council on planning applications.

Planning applications can be found on the ESC website. Search for applications here

For more general information on the ESC planning process see here.

The Town Council considers planning applications twice a month – at the planning committee meeting and at Full Council meetings. We have 21 days to respond to applications, and our comments are considered by ESC, but the final decision rests with ESC.

Letters supporting or objecting to an application should be sent directly to ESC (in writing or by email) and a copy sent to Framlingham Town Council.

Most applications are decided by the Planning Officers, but more significant or contentious applications are handled by ESC Councillors at their monthly Planning Committee meetings. In this case, Framlingham Town Council and members of the public may attend and make oral submissions at the meeting.

Plannng Committee Meetings usually take place on the third Monday of each month. Links to individual planning applications being considered at the meeting are included in the Agenda document. However some applications arrive late, but need to be considered immediately to meet the deadlines. In which case a separate Meeting Paper will be issued and posted in the meetings calendar.

The "Sustainable Framlingham" is the new environment working group, and is an advisory group consisting of Councillors and other members of the local community, reporting to the Planning Committee.

Its task is to ensure the environmental impacts of actions are considered with particular regard to the climate emergency declared by the Town Council in 2021.

The group will monitor activities of the Council and town to ensure wherever possible that actions have a positive impact on reducing waste, enhancing the natural environment and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

The group reports back to the Planning Committee with advice and recommendations to meet these goals.

For more information, see: Sustainable Framlingham