Attending public ministerial meetings
Where an application is to be determined by the Minister for Planning and Environment all meetings take place in public.The following are the protocols for public meetings of the Minister for Planning and Environment:
- you may speak at the meeting provided that you notify the department in advance
- you should restrict your comments to a duration of 3 minutes and should confine remarks to relevant planning issues – you should not raise personal or private matters
- in the case of groups of people raising similar issues, you should identify a single representative to put forward the collective views of your group
- you must make your points orally. Additional written or photographic submissions cannot be accepted if submitted less than 7 days prior to the meeting date, as they cannot be properly assessed and circulated in time
- the Minister may ask you questions and may seek clarification from planning officers on any points you make
- if the Minister wishes to visit a site, he may an application to do so. An unaccompanied visit will take place and the decision issued after that date
- any person who behaves in a manner which interferes with the meeting will be asked to leave by the Minister
Download protocols for public meetings of the Minister - SPG practice note 7 (size 34kb)