Statement of community involvement (sci)
A "Statement of Community Involvement" (SCI) is a document issued by a local council that outlines how they will engage with the community when making planning decisions, explaining the methods they will use to consult residents and other stakeholders during the development of planning policies and when considering individual planning applications.
- Design stage
- Research
- Tags
- building-control
- Also known as
- SCI
- Discussion
- Join the discussion on GitHub
- Last updated
- 7 February 2025
Backlog
Which 2024 focus area does the request support?
Faster local plans
Screen
What is the 'Statement of community involvement (sci)' consideration?
A "Statement of Community Involvement" (SCI) is a document issued by a local council that outlines how they will engage with the community when making planning decisions, explaining the methods they will use to consult residents and other stakeholders during the development of planning policies and when considering individual planning applications.
Is there legislation that defines 'Statement of community involvement (sci)'?
Yes
What is the legislation that defines 'Statement of community involvement (sci)'?
Under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, Section 18, it is stated that:
(1)The local planning authority must prepare a statement of community involvement.
(2)The statement of community involvement 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.
Sub-section (2) is the best legislative definition for SCIs.
Which organisations do we think should publish the data?
Local authorities
Is the Statement of community involvement (sci) a trigger?
No
Is the Statement of community involvement (sci) something to consult during plan making?
No
Is there any Statement of community involvement (sci) data already available?
Yes
What Statement of community involvement (sci) data is currently available?
- Tewkesbury Borough Council Statement of Community Involvement (publisher: Tewkesbury; coverage: Local Authority; licence: Unknown; fields: [DOCUMENT])
Do we think the data should come from a single source?
No - an SCI is a document produced by local authorities individually, and so we would have to collect this data per LPA.
Will a data standard be required?
Yes
Research
What other planning considerations does it interact with?
Local Plans, Development Plans
What are the planning needs for this data?
There is a legal requirement under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) for the City Council to produce a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), which sets out how it intends to achieve community involvement in the preparation of plans and in decision-making on planning applications.
The Statement of Community Involvement: • Lets people know how they can get involved in planning decisions; • Sets out how LPAs will engage the wider community in planning decisions; and • Sets out the level of community engagement that the LPA expects from developers in the planning process.
It is is useful in providing how an LPA informs, involves and consults local people in planning decisions.
Who are the types of users who might benefit from having access to Statement of community involvement (sci) data?
Those being engaged - local communities, residents, businesses, landowners etc
What's the value of adding Statement of community involvement (sci) data to the platform?
To ensure transparency and provide clear information on how the community can participate in the planning process.