Planning Approval – Who Needs It ? (28/01/2015)
The planning system is supposed to be a standard system applied across the country, so why do we encounter so many different ‘interpretations’ of Planning Law? We are noticing that a lot of Planning Authorities are recruiting new younger staff. However, in some cases it would appear to be at the expense of senior experienced staff who are leaving to set up on their own in private practise. Others, completely disillusioned, just want to get as far away from planning as is possible.
Here is a typical example (we could mention many more!!). We submitted an application to extend a dwelling with a two storey extension to the front. The site was a corner plot within a cul-de-sac. At Agrarian, our policy is that once the application is registered and coming towards the end of the consultation period, we telephone the planning officer to ascertain their thoughts and comments.
So, when the consultation period had ended, I rang the officer, introduced myself and asked if there had been any negative comments from the neighbours or other consultees (sometimes the comments are posted on the councils’ website but not always!). The officer cut me short saying that they were going to refuse the application as it was un-neighbourly and too big for the site. Mmm.. deep breath, then I once again asked very politely ‘were there any negative comments’. The officer then, almost reluctantly, replied ‘no, nobody objected’. ‘Not even the neighbours ?’ I enquired . The planner commented ‘no, none of the neighbours objected’. ‘Oh OK, thanks’ I replied going on to ask ‘what did the officer think of the site context when they visited the site ?’ . The silence was deafening and then a mumbled response saying that they had not actually visited the site yet ! However, given their experience they considered that the application should be refused. So, once again a deep breath, and I very politely (politeness always seems to throw people off balance! Is that because so many people aren’t?) stated that you want to refuse the application because:
- The application is un-neighbourly (great government term!) yet none of the neighbours who were consulted objected! This may be due to the fact that we had already approached the neighbours with copies of the drawings and ascertained that they were happy!
- The development is too large for the site. Mmm... I then commented to the planner that if they visited the site they would be able to appreciate the context of the extension in the site setting. I also confirmed that the percentage increase of the extension on the footprint of the house in relation to the site was still within the permitted percentage increase.
‘Oh’ came the response, ‘perhaps I shall discuss this with my line manager and visit the site’. ‘Yes that would be great and will it be OK if I telephone you the following week to find out your thoughts further ?’ I added.
So a week went by and I contacted the planning officer, who seemed a lot more amenable, and commented that, after visiting site and discussing it with their line manager, they had written their report on the application recommending approval. I duly thanked the officer for their diligence and wished them well.
The moral of the incident is that you should never accept a planning officer’s first comments as, in this case, it went from a ‘no - it’s a refusal’ to ‘yes - it’s an approval’ due to some polite, dogged determination backed-up with a fair amount of planning knowledge and experience. Perhaps that’s why Agrarian has a 99% planning approval rate over a ten year period !
