Local Planning
Role of Somerset Council
The role of Somerset Council in planning is to act as the Local Planning Authority (LPA) for the whole of Somerset. Since the 2023 reorganisation (when district councils like Sedgemoor were merged), it now handles all planning functions in the county.
Role of North Petherton Town Council
The Town Council is a Statutory Consultee for planning applications and as such does not make the final decision on any application. Any decisions and comments this Committee makes will be fed into the planning process. The appropriate planning authority will issue the decision notice (Planning Determination) once their investigations into an application, consultation period and decision-making process have been completed.
Local reports commissioned by North Petherton Town Council
when the Committee is considering planning applications it will be guided by the National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) and policies contained in the Local Plan
Local reports commissioned by North Petherton Town Council
The Town Council has produced two cumulative impact assessment documents.
The Planning and Highways Committee will take the information in these documents into account when considering planning applications as part of considering planning applications in a strategic context.
**Developers are strongly advised to use and refer to the documents in their application documents.**
Trial Triage Process (30 September 2026)
The Town Council is trialling a triage process with the aim of enabling the Committee to have appropriate amounts of time to consider the most complex planning applications. The triage system allows every Town Councillor to comment on a planning application where it falls within certain criteria, and an official response to be sent to the planning authority but without the application being presented to a committee meeting. A pdf setting out the process is attached.