Can the council planning department just ignore me?

[JKDcot]

I put in a planning application early June to renovate my garage into home office. Nothing fancy just need to use the space now I’m WFH and have no where to work from in my house.

The planning department have been dealing with it so slowly and now not heard anything for 2 months? I’ve phoned 4-5 times and emails 4-5 times not asking for a decision, just an update? They don’t even acknowledge me with 1 line response. Just totally ignored.

Is this normal? AIBU feeling so angry? They’re meant to provide a service, I’m sure they’re “busy” but I think 2 months of no response is disgraceful. Any suggestions what to do?

@Kapsauss

How is it 2 months,when OP put in an application in June? June, July, August, September, October. That's 5 months without any communication from planning! And that's below standards. But then again, it's council, they have all the time in the world when you need something from them - but when they need something from you, then you better get your backside in gear with 7 days or less.

From the op: The planning department have been dealing with it so slowly and now not heard anything for 2 months?

Are you a slow responder rrhuth?! Calling OP childish for expecting a response is ridiculous! Sometimes people can be unrealistic about timeframes, but how can it ever be OK to completely ignore emails and phone calls?!

OP might need planning if she's living in a conservation area, or wants to put in a new window. It will depend on her circumstances locally.

Keep chasing. We had the same with Building Control a few years ago, they were SO SLOW approving the final project that we had an email saying that the warrant was about to run out.

I would find out which of your local Councillors sits on hte planning committee and email them asking what the delay is all about.

@Bimblybomeyelash

Are you a slow responder rrhuth?! Calling OP childish for expecting a response is ridiculous! Sometimes people can be unrealistic about timeframes, but how can it ever be OK to completely ignore emails and phone calls?!

No, I'm not a slow responder as I have a different job in a different sector

But the op is asking repeatedly for an update when the only update they can give is 'we will complete the process as soon as possible'. It is, IMO, like asking 'are we there yet?' over and over again.

If the op feels the council has not followed procedure, stop whining and put in a complaint.

This is is a funding issue, there's no point moaning - there are insufficient staff, it's a political choice. Moaning won't change it.

Maybe they’re busy sending updates to everyone who asks for them which no doubt delays them being able to do other things?

Maybe they’re busy sending updates to everyone who asks for them which no doubt delays them being able to do other things?

This is sadly the position many local authority staff are in. They probably would love to keep everyone updated and do everything quickly, but there just aren't enough of them and the longer they spend on the phone and updating people, the less time there is for actually processing the applications. It's a vicious circle.

Of course the OP's Council might just be crap. And of course it's ridiculous to wait that long for what should be a straightforward decision. But the above is frustratingly normal right now.

I applied for planning permission, apparently at my local council everyone works from home so it took 16 weeks to hear back it went to a meeting and I had to pay for an advert then granted. I was applying to change a holiday cottage which is next door to me to a separate residential property. No more mortgage when the sale goes through !

I contacted a different department at my council. I got an automated reply explaining that they deal with e mails in the order they come in.

So when they get to mine they dealt with it.

Sending chasing e mails would have been pointless, as they wouldn't have been read until after the first one was dealt with.

So I think you just need to be patient. They will get to you eventually, they won't put you to the back of the queue for asking, but having to reply to many people who want updates does delay the actual work they are wanting updates on.

Planner here - PP can definitely be required for garage conversions, and this is not uncommon. It is not possible to say for certain unless the circumstances of the individual case are examined, so please stop telling others that PP isn't needed.

Councils should determine applications such as this within 8 weeks of validation. If not, you do have the right to appeal to the planning inspectorate on the grounds of non-determination, but IME they are taking months to deal with appeals at the moment so I would stick with the Council.

OP - did you submit the application or did you have an agent (architect, planner, builder etc) act on your behalf? If it is the latter, the planners will be dealing direct with them. If not, then I would contact your local councillor (details in the Council website), explain the situation, and they should be able to contact the relevant officer on your behalf.

The reality is, there's nothing to update - it's either not been looked (likely) or been looked at and additional info needed. It's not something that needs continual work doing on it - admin ensure that all documents are collated and then schedule it in for a panel to review. Our LA has several panels depending on the type of application they see X applications a day, and sit 1-3 times a week. Until panel has sat, there's nothing to update.

Planning departments were decimated from about 2011 onwards, along with most other local authority back office and professional functions. People are very quick to deride “bureaucrats” and “back office” workers until they need them for something.

@RobinPenguins exactly! Planning is a funny thing, residents hate the idea of someone else building something they might not like but won’t pay for the service properly.

@rrhuth

I think yabu and pretty childish. Two months isn't a long time, and they're not sitting around with nothing to do. Stop taking it personally.

All public services in the UK have been underfunded for a decade, plus covid created backlogs. Do you want them to a) help you jump the queue or b) not do their job properly or c) shut down some other council service entirely to pay for more planning officers?

^ Though they could give an update. You’d have to make an official complaint to get a response. Our planning department take AGES to respond and that was pre covid!

[quote Littlecaf]@RobinPenguins exactly! Planning is a funny thing, residents hate the idea of someone else building something they might not like but won’t pay for the service properly.[/quote]
Yes agree - and people get very aerated if their neighbours build something without planning oversight, but object to being subject to the same oversight when they want to do something!

@RobinPenguins

Planning departments were decimated from about 2011 onwards, along with most other local authority back office and professional functions. People are very quick to deride “bureaucrats” and “back office” workers until they need them for something.

So true!

Blame all the people who voted for austerity, OP, because this is what it means: not enough council staff to deal with things in a timely manner.

Planning and building control staff at my district council have been reduced by 75% over the last 10 years, but there's more building going on atm than in the 30 years I've been here.

Practically everyone wants to extend.build at the moment - we’re totally swamped. Having just had an extension done trying to get a builder/plumber/roofer to give you a quote is ridiculous.

However that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a good service OP. You do have recourse - do use it.

When I was waiting for my PP to come through, I kept an eye on the council planning pages. It may not be the same for all councils but on ours you can see what date the application was submitted and what date a decision was made so you can see where they are up to with getting through the applications.

@Woeismethischristmas

I applied for planning permission, apparently at my local council everyone works from home so it took 16 weeks to hear back it went to a meeting and I had to pay for an advert then granted. I was applying to change a holiday cottage which is next door to me to a separate residential property. No more mortgage when the sale goes through !

FFS. People working from home are still working, what do you think it means?

It means when it gets to 12 weeks (their timescale) you can’t call and get an update. It also means you can’t check before submitting your application both of which you used to be able to do. Wfh seems to equal An excuse for rubbish/ slow service nowadays. Not just the council but the bank, insurance. It was understandable a year ago but now when Im told sorry it’s taking so long or can’t do that because of COVID I find it really annoying.

We had this last year over a similar issue. My DH wrote to our local MP, who chased the planning department for us. It worked!

2 months is nothing these days OP, so YABU.

I work for a council planning dept. The fact you can't easily phone and ask questions has nothing to do with the fact people are working from home. It's because there simply aren't enough planning officers to answer all the questions and also determine the actual applications. And the reason for that is a complicated mix of inadequate funding and lack of qualified staff even if we had enough money to pay them. Every team in my Council has vacant posts - many have been vacant for months. We spent months recruiting for an essential technical back office support role - finally got someone and she left after three days because someone in another organisation made an offer she couldn't refuse.

If you want to fix it, vote for whichever party promises to fund local services properly and find a way of valuing public sector jobs so that people want to do them. Everyone I work with would like to be offering a better and more responsive service. We are doing what we can.