One-Stop Shop for Developers
Mid Beds District Council aims to improve the local environment through its development plan and provide an effective planning and building control service.
To do this, Mid Beds has brought together its planning, building control and other relevant services to deal with major development proposals from construction industry applicants. This provides an integrated, co-ordinated and customer focused service.
The scheme saves time and resources, avoids unnecessary meetings and ensures you meet at one time those officers dealing with your project and get clear advice on your application within 28 days.
The scheme is intended for developers who have not contacted Mid Beds before, or feel they will benefit from this approach. If you have been in contact with us before you are welcome to continue dealing with the relevant officers you already know.
Projects qualify if they are:
- residential schemes of 10 dwellings or more
- commercial schemes of 1,000m2 or more OR
- a complex town centre redevelopment opportunity
- industrial schemes comprising in excess of 1,000m2 floor area
The Development Team approach may be suitable for other large or complex schemes - contact the Planning Division to discuss the issue.
How it works
- You can make your initial contact with any of our key contact officers (see below)
- They will arrange a co-ordinated meeting with you within 28 days
- Arrangements can be made to include other linked services at your request (e.g. County Council, Highways, Police, Fire, Water Companies, Environment Agency)
- We will consider what other arrangements could be made to speed up your application
- You will be asked to provide specific information and plans 10 days prior to this meeting
- Attending the meeting will be representatives of each of the services you will need to deal with
- The information and plans you have provided will enable those attending to give you authoritative advice at the meeting.
The Planning Users Concordat
Mid Beds District Council acts in accordance with the Planning Users Concordat, an agreement between the Local Government Association and organisations such as the CBI, British Property Federation, Rural England and Civic Trust. It sets the best practice for securing efficient local planning.
Accordingly, Mid Beds supports:
- undertaking pre-application discussions to ensure issues are properly covered before a formal application is submitted;
- applicants using a variety of consultation methods before submitting large-scale or potentially controversial applications;
- applicants who show they have considered the results of consultations and include a design statement;
- agreeing a timetable for dealing with larger, complex applications;
- ensuring that applicants know the level of information required for their applications, including the need for a design statement;
- making available details of our scheme of delegated decision-making to ensure applicants know what can be decided by officers and which decisions must be made by councillors;
- full public involvement in decision-making through publishing a weekly list of planning applications and encouraging public speaking at Development Control meetings;
- following an adopted code of conduct for its meetings in accordance with the findings of the Nolan Committee;
- identifying corporately those issues raised by large and complex schemes which will be subject to formal obligations. These will be identified in adopted planning and development briefs;
- meeting statutory timescales for producing evidence for appeals;
- publishing guidelines to its enforcement process and through its minor modification procedure, providing guidelines on when a fresh planning application will be required (if a new application is required because changes are not minor this may require a further planning fee).
How to contact us
Planning
Andrew Davie - 08452 30 40 40 - andrew.davie@midbeds.gov.uk
Building Control
Peter Keates - 08458 495 380 - peter.keates@midbeds.gov.uk
Environmental Health
Work Team - Su Childerhouse - 08458 495 394 - susan.childerhouse@midbeds.gov.uk
Home Team - Lisa Roach - 08458 495 450 - lisa.roach@midbeds.gov.uk
Economic Development
Jon Cliff - 08458 495 373 - jon.cliff@midbeds.gov.uk
