Last edited 28 Mar 2019

Statement of community involvement SCI

Section 18 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 introduced a requirement for local planning authorities to prepare a statement of community involvement (SCI), that is ‘…a statement of the authority’s policy as to the involvement in the exercise of the authority’s functions under sections 19, 26 and 28 of this Act and Part 3 of the principal Act of persons who appear to the authority to have an interest in matters relating to development in their area.’

The statement of community involvement sets out the local planning authorities engagement strategy for the planned involvement of the local community in the preparation and review of development plan documents and in consultation on planning applications. It describes the standards that the local planning authority will adopt in these processes, and how those standards will be achieved. The statement of community involvement itself is not a development plan document, but may be included as part of the local plan’s core strategy.

The planning inspectorate suggests that, ‘A statement of community involvement will tell you how you can find out what is going on in relation to planning matters in your area and how you can get involved. It will set out the types of communities in the area that the authority will try to involve, and the organisations and people the authority has to consult. It should also set out how the authority will consult people.' (Ref. Planning inspectorate, A brief guide to examining statements of community involvement.)

The detailed requirements for the preparation of statements of community involvement were amended by the introduction of the Localism Act 2011 and the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.