Please be aware that there will be some delays in our response times which is unavoidable at the moment.  We are experiencing an increase in Covid-related staff absence and many of our staff are working hard to balance work and home schooling.  The Council is committed to supporting our staff to work flexibly to enable a balance to be reached which means our officers may be working different hours.   

Please bear with us at this difficult time.  We are mindful of the personal pressures that a third lockdown places on us all and we respectfully ask that you are considerate when communicating with our staff.

For more details on our revised processes, please see our FAQs Covid-19 impact on planning processes. Thank you for your understanding.

Role of local councils in planning

The local council protocol that sets out how local councils are involved in the application process. Please see the role of local councils in planning page for more information on other aspects.

Planning application documents

The Head of Planning gives permission for you to download plans and documents relating to planning applications. This can be electronically or paper.  Section 47 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 applies. You cannot copy the documents for your own use as this will infringe copyright. You can only copy documents if you have the permission of the copyright owner. (This may be the person that drew the plans or the author of the document)

Local council planning training and conferences

Local Council Planning Induction Training events were held after the elections in 2017. Officers from the Planning and Sustainable Development Service ran these events. They were very well attended and the total number of local councillors trained was 371. 

• View the Local Council Planning Induction training presentation.

We also provide training for Local Councils each year. These are the annual Local Council Planning Conferences. Please have a look at our Local Council Planning Conferences webpage. This contains:

• Information on upcoming events
• Presentations from previous events

Links to useful information

• Advertisements and signs
• Advice and guidance
• Affordable housing in Cornwall
• Appeals
• Application process
• Conservation advice
• Contacts
• Delegated powers
• Enforcement
• High hedges
• Local development orders
• Neighbourhood planning
• Notification and publicity of planning applications
• Online planning register
• Planning Policy
• Role of local councils in planning
• Section 106 planning obligations
• Trees
• What's new in Planning