Constituted as a Committee of the States with effect from 1 May 2016.
Constitution
- A President and four members who shall be sitting members of the States: provided that neither the President nor any member of the Development & Planning Authority shall be the President or a member of the Policy & Resources Committee or the President or a member of the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure; and up to two non-voting members appointed by the Committee who shall not be members of the States.
President: Deputy Victoria Oliver Vice-President: Deputy Andrew Taylor Members: Deputy Chris Blin Deputy John Dyke Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller Director of Planning: Jim Rowles Duties & Powers
- To advise the States on land use policy and to develop and implement land use policies through development plans and any other relevant instruments.
- To determine development applications of all kinds, including planning, building control, protected buildings and scheduled sites.
- To maintain and keep under review schemes of delegation in order that only the most contentious or high profile or atypical development control applications are referred to the elected members of the Authority, and when they are so referred to ensure that they are heard at open planning meetings held in public.
- To exercise powers and perform duties conferred on the Authority by extant States' resolutions, including those resolutions or parts of resolutions which relate to matters for the time being within the mandate of the Development & Planning Authority and which conferred functions on the former Environment Department.
- To fulfil the responsibilities and operation functions set out below.
Responsibilities
- A. General Responsibilities of the Policy & Resources Committee and all Principal Committees
- 1. to contribute to fulfilling the States' objectives and policy plans, including by supporting and participating in cross-committee work;
- 2. to monitor and report on policy outcomes in areas relating to its mandate;
- 3. to ensure that public funds and other resources are used to best advantage, including through co-operative and flexible working practices.
- B. General Responsibilities of all Committees of the States
- 1. to exercise powers and perform duties conferred on the committee by extant legislation and by extant States' resolutions;
- 2. to be accountable to the States for all policies developed, actions taken and services delivered or overseen by the committee;
- 3. to be accountable to the States for the management and safeguarding of public funds and other resources entrusted to the committee;
- 4. in any policy letter submitted to the States to set out clearly how the proposals contained therein relate to the duties and powers or the purpose and policy responsibilities of the committee, how the proposals contribute to the States' objectives and policy plans and what joint working or consultation has taken place with other committees;
- 5. to act in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the States and their committees;
- 6. to be aware of the powers, duties and limits of the committee's mandate and to respect and not to undermine the mandates of other committees of the States;
- 7. to be aware that a committee of the States is in effect an agent of the States of Guernsey exercising functions conferred on it by resolution of, or legislation approved by, the States of Deliberation; and as such to respect that, save in specific circumstances where legislation provides otherwise, the States may at any time they consider it desirable issue directions to a committee and that committee shall be expected to carry into effect any such directions irrespective of whether that committee or any of its individual members agree or disagree with such directions: provided that the rejection by the States of recommendations or advice of a committee shall not ipso facto require the resignation of that committee.
- C. Reference to Enactments
- 1. unless otherwise provided, or the context requires otherwise, a reference to an enactment in the mandate of a committee is to be interpreted as a reference to the enactment as from time to time amended, re-enacted with or without modification, extended or applied.
Operational Functions
- The Development & Planning Authority shall deliver or oversee the delivery of those operational functions which immediately before the 1st of May, 2016 were delivered by the Environment Department in relation to the following operational functions only:
- o Operational functions arising out of planning legislation (except those that relate to planning inquiry administration), including:
- - Enforcing planning legislation
- - Operational functions relating to preparing development plans, subject plans, local planning briefs, guidance notes development briefs and frameworks
- - Administering planning applications and pre-application advice requests
- - Making building regulations and Guernsey technical standards
- - Administering building regulation applications and pre-application advice requests
- - Conservation and design advice
- - Administering statutory registers of protected buildings and protected monuments
- - Administering tree protection orders and functions in relation to sites of special significance and conservation areas
- - Immunity certificates and property searches
- o Salles Publique, public building and public entertainment inspection and licencing
- o Clearance of ruins
Complaints Procedure
- Formal Customer Complaints Procedure
- The D&PA and Planning Service operate a formal system for dealing with customer complaints. For efficiency reasons, the formal Customer Complaint Procedure is administered by the Office of the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure. Any complaints made will be reviewed and any recurring issues identified, amendments to policies and guidance recommended and training given where necessary.
- Links to the Customer Complaint Procedure and Customer Complaint Form:
Complaints procedure [256kb]
