Statutory

Statutory refers to organisations and bodies that are defined by a formal law or a statute. These bodies are entities shaped by an Act of Parliament and set up by the Government to consider the data and make judgments in some area of activity.

Non-statutory

Non-statutory is essentially another term for common law. Therefore such bodies are formed by executive resolution or action, which means that they are formed only by the Government’s action.

Statutory consultee

Statutory consultees are professional bodies that Local Planning Authorities are required by law to consult prior to a decision being made on a planning application and these bodies hold the power to affect the result of the application.

You can find a list of a few UK statutory and non-statutory consultees here.

Non-statutory consultee

Planning policy reasons sometimes require the engagement of other consultees who – whilst not designated in law – are likely to have an interest in a proposed development. These are considered to be non-stautory consultees.

Examples

• If a project involved a new development next to an existing road, Highways England would need to be consulted before the application outcome was decided.
• If the new development was located next to a river, the Environment Agency would need to be consulted to provide advice on flood plains and regulate the SuDS strategy.