How to access planning documents
on Oxford City Council website
and submit comments
To begin go to Oxford City Council Planning Applications which takes you to their Planning Applications page. Click on the first box with the title ‘View, comment and track planning applications’ or just click here for a direct link.
Take note of the guidance on how to view and comment on planning applications before clicking on the ‘View and comment on planning applications‘ link near the top of the page to go to the default ‘Planning – Simple Search’ page. Other search criteria are listed below.
On the ‘Status’ dropdown box the default ‘All’ is the most useful choice unless the search is more specific. Enter a keyword, reference number, postcode, or single line of an address in the next box and click on SEARCH. Take time to experiment with the different search criteria, most of which are self explanatory, but see how the Reference Numbers works
Using the Reference Number 24/02451/RES as an example, SEARCH takes you to the SUMMARY page by default but other tabs enable you to view Comments, Constraints, Documents and Related Cases:
- the DOCUMENTS tab lists all the documents relating to this application and you can select any of the documents which interest you in the check boxes on the left. It is possible to download up to 25 documents in one archive file at a time.
- the COMMENTS tab gives you access the ‘Application Comments’ form if comments are allowed in the planning process. The window of access is for only 30 minutes and it is therefore best to prepare comments in advance, in a separate file, e.g. a Word file, and upload it into the file that can be submitted to Planning, Oxford City Council.
If there are any questions about how to prepare comments, please feel free to contact me.
December 2024
Search Criteria: There are five tabs to select from:
Simple – search by keyword, reference number, postcode* or single line of an address
Advanced – search as Simple plus by Ward or Parish, etc.
Weekly/Monthly Lists – Lists of all applications in a particular week or month by parish or ward
Property – search by full property address
Map – a map (zoom in for detail) showing red-lined positions of current applications. Click on a red-lined property to see address and link to details.
* Obviously, the postcode you enter does not need to be your own. If you don’t know the postcode of a particular address go to The Royal Mail’s postcode finder.
Note: Click here to see the area covered by HRA
Reference numbers take the form as follows: 24/02451/RES. This specific reference is for an application on which HRA has recently commented. The parts of the reference are:
1. Year (in 2 digits, here ‘24’),
2. the reference code, and
3. the status of the application. There are three codes for the status of the application:
OUT: The application is for ‘outline’ planning permission. This is the first stage of an application which sets out the plans in general terms.
RES: ‘Reserved’ is the second stage in which the application sets out details of the project such as drawings or plans by the architect.
FUL: ‘Full’ is the final stage of the application in which details of the project are set out along with supporting documents and comments and objections from members of the public and civic groups such as HRA (Highfield Residents Association).