South Downs National Park – planning
The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, as amended by the Environment Act 1995 gave national parks a legal obligation to uphold the two purposes and duty:
Within the South Downs National Park the Park planning authority’s policies apply: CLICK HERE to access the full plan ( NB: this is a large PDF)
The Park have also issued Supplementary Planning Documents: CLICK HERE
Also they have some helpful Technical Advice Notes: CLICK HERE
Planning Aid
This service is run by the Royal Town Planning Institute and is a free advisory service. It’s not meant to replace the idea of employing a professional or following up other avenues for gaining advice but it will give you guidance as to how to approach things or clarify aspects of planning law/regulations
“Planning Aid England offers planning advice and support to individuals and communities. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to get involved in planning their local area, and provide people with the knowledge and tools to achieve this”.
https://www.rtpi.org.uk/planning-advice/
CPRE Planning Help
CPRE, the Countryside Charity, have produced a very helpful document to help individuals and communities with planning matters. It is free to download. Just click in the link below:
How to respond to planning applications: an 8-step guide
Farm Diversification, Permitted Development and Expansion
This is a particularly complicated area of planning and there isn’t much guidance available though these documents may be of some help: CLICK HERE
How to challenge a planning decision
There are no third-party rights of appeal through the planning system against a decision of a local planning authority. Therefore, if you have concerns about a planning application and permission is granted, you cannot appeal that decision. However, you can challenge the lawfulness of a decision via Judicial Review (JR). This summary on South Northamptonshire Council web site is very helpful. There is more information on the Planning Aid web site. remember you only have 6 weeks in which to launch a JR!