Welcome to the West Devon Borough Council website.

RESPONSIBILITIES

To carry out the Council's responsibilities for the following areas:

Planning

Development Control

• Advertisement Control.
• Agreements regulating the development or use of land.
• Applications by Local Planning Authorities.
• Authority to determine whether planning permission required.
• Breach of Condition Notices.
• Certificates of Lawfulness of Development.
• Consultations by Crown and Duchy.
• Discontinuance of use or alteration or removal of buildings or works.
• Electricity Supply Acts Consultations.
• Enforcement Control.
• General Planning Control including the determination of planning applications.
• Land adversely affecting the amenity of the neighbourhood.
• Land Compensation Act 1961, Section 17 - Certificate of Appropriate Alternative Development.
• Provisions as to compensation and provisions enabling an owner to require the purchase of an interest.
• Responding to Dartmoor National Park consultations.
• Revocation or modification of planning permission.
• Stop Notices.
• Telecommunication Mast Applications.
• To extinguish/divert public rights of way under the Town and Country Planning Acts and to make representations to other Authorities in relation to their exercise of these powers under that or other legislation.

Conservation - Historic Buildings

• Building Preservation Notices.
• Compulsory acquisition of buildings in need of repair and related powers.
• Listed Building Consents and Conservation Area Consents.
• Listed Building Enforcement.
• Revocation or modification of Listed Building Consent.

Community Landscaping

• Hedgerow consultations.
• To comment on consultations by the Forestry Commission.
• To offer grant aid for tree surgery to trees of public amenity importance within the financial limits set down in the Council's estimates.
• Tree Preservation Orders and related control and enforcement.

Licensing

To be responsible for all of the Council's licensing functions (including the licensing functions under the Licensing Act 2003).

• To review and recommend to Council the Licensing Statement of Policy
• To determine all licensing applications (except in relation to the licensing functions under the Licensing Act 2003):
  • to which an objection has been received and not withdrawn or satisfactorily addressed by the applicant; or
  • which are contrary to Council policy; or
  • for licences for Sex Establishments (Sex Shops and Sex Cinemas); or
  • for Closing Orders in respect of the control of Refreshment Houses under Part IV of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982; or
  • which a Member of the Council requests be determined by the Committee.
• To determine the revocation or suspension of any licence.

Licensing sub-committees

Licensing sub-committees are to have the following responsibilities in relation to functions under the Licensing Act 2003:

• Applications for personal licences - if there is a police objection
• Applications for personal licences with unspent convictions - all cases
• Review of personal licences - if there is a police objection
• Applications for premises licence/club premises certificate - if a relevant representation is made
• Applications for provisional statement - if a relevant representation is made
• Application to vary premises licence/club premises certificate - if a relevant representation is made
• Applications to vary designated premises supervisor - if police objection made
• Applications for transfer of premises licence - if police objection
• Applications for interim authorities - if a police objection
• Applications to review premises licence/club premises certificate - all cases
• Decision to object when Council is consultee and not relevant authority  - all cases
• Determination of a police objection to a temporary event notice - all cases

During the transition period:

• Conversion of an existing licence
• Conversion of an existing club registration certificate
• Grant of a personal licence by the holder of an existing justices' licence

Local Land Charges

• To provide and administer a comprehensive Land Charges system.

FEES

To keep under review the fees and charges for the Committee's services where statutory authority exists for the levying of such charges and to recommend the levying of such fees and charges to the Strategies and Resources Committee.

BUDGET

To have authority for spending within the allocated budget.

BEST VALUE

To be responsible for service performance within the remit of the Committee.