Every week, the Council prepares a list of all the planning and listed building applications that it has received. The weekly planning application list is available on the planning page of the Council's website [see also link below].

The Council consults the Ladbroke Association on planning applications in the Ladbroke area and sends weekly lists to the Association. Details of planning decisions taken on previous applications relating to the Ladbroke Estate, and any subsequent appeals against these decisions, are also sent to the Association.

Members of the Association's planning sub-committee visit the Planning Department on a monthly basis to inspect the applications and their associated drawings and statements. There are usually about twenty applications per month on which the sub-committee reports to the main Ladbroke Association Committee.

Many of the applications are for minor works of no particular concern. But in about half of the cases the Association decides to make representations to the Council because we consider that the work proposed is not in keeping with the character of the conservation area. For instance, we have recently been concerned about proposals for basement extensions that will result in the disappearance of “real” gardens, as the many attractive gardens at street level are such an important feature of the area. Usually, however, we suggest only some fairly minor change to make a proposal more acceptable.

We expect members to let us know their views on planning applications that are troubling them. Whenever an application seems likely to have a deleterious effect on the conservation area, we are usually happy to support objections (although there can be problems where there is disagreement between neighbours on what would be acceptable). What we cannot do is to intervene when a proposal affects only the immediate neighbours and not the area generally, for example, where a new extension would involve a loss of privacy for the neighbour. Much though we might sympathise, this is a case where you would have to fight your own battle. The article "Objecting to planning applications" in our Spring 2008 Newsletter gives some advice. [see Article].