Petitions

Winchester City Council accepts paper petitions and e-petitions.
Please read below for information.

Clipboard The City Council welcomes petitions and recognises that they are one way in which people can let us know their concerns. A petition to the Council may be presented on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties, or which affects the Winchester District.

Who can submit a petition?

Any of the following may present a petition:

Any member of the Council
Any local government elector of the Winchester District
Any resident of the Winchester District
Any person who works or studies within the Winchester District.

All Councils have a legal duty to respond to petitions and so the City Council has produced the following guidance note on how we will do this, including information about the numbers of signatories required.

Petitions guidance note

Because they are dealt with under separate existing procedures, the legislation allows the scheme to exclude petitions which relate to individual planning and licensing applications. However, the Council has decided that the public may find it useful to have this means of making representations about applications. Therefore, further information is set out under 'Important Additional Information' below and in the guidance note.

Petitions which relate to planning or licensing applications will not be considered by Council, Cabinet or a scrutiny body. They will be directed to either the Planning Committee or Licensing Sub-Committee as appropriate.

To ensure that everyone knows what we are doing in response to the petitions we receive, the details of all petitions submitted to us will be published on these pages of our website, except in cases where this would be inappropriate. Whenever possible, we will also publish all correspondence relating to the petition. The name and address of the petition organiser will normally be published, but other personal information will be removed.

e-Petitions

mouse The Council has provided a facility for creating online electronic petitions via an e-Petitions system. Details of how to submit and sign an online petition are set out at paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Petitions Guidance note available via this page.

Important Additional Information

Planning

If you are thinking about raising a petition for or against a planning application, please note that, regardless of the number of signatures, the petition would normally be counted as a single representation. Six or more representations are required to trigger a planning matter being referred to the Planning Development Control Committee for decision (rather than being dealt by the planning case officer). If you have any queries relating to this process, please contact the Planning Administration Team on 01962 848177 or e-mail planning@winchester.gov.uk. Further information is also available via this link. Also, please note that the closing date for comments given on the petition website is the last date that representations will be accepted through this route. After this date, you may still submit comments direct to the Planning Team, although they may not always be taken into account.

Licensing

If you are thinking about raising a petition supporting or objecting to a Licensing matter (for example, for a premises licence or club premises certificate), the criteria for submitting representations (including petitions) is contained in the Licensing Act 2003. When relevant representations are received for an application, the Council must hold a hearing to decide the matter by the Licensing Sub Committee. If you have any queries relating to this process, please contact the Local Licensing Team on 01962 848188 or email licensing@winchester.gov.uk. Further information is also available via this link and you should particularly note the current definition of 'Interested Party' because representations cannot be accepted by persons who do not fall within this category.