Council planning department keeps moving goalposts

[Cobblersandhogwash]

We submitted an application to build 7 houses on our land last November.

The council planning department are taking an absolute age to make a decision on this.

In January, they came back to us to tell us the ridge heights of the proposed properties are too high. We resubmitted plans very quickly, making the requested adjustment.

Then in February, they said the our man in charge of our case had left and someone else was in charge of it now and needed more time.

In March, they said the person in charge of trees hadn't read the report yet.

It's now May. At the beginning of May, someone else was brought on board and needed two more weeks at least to review the application.

I feel this is deeply unprofessional of the council planning department.

Do I have any recourse? What can I do? Or if I do anything, do I risk our application?

Like all council departments they will have had their budgets cut to the bone, near enough a decade of pay freezes, their caseloads tripled, constantly moving goalposts within their own roles, and a recruitment and retention crisis because let's face it who'd put up with all of that?

No help to you, and i sympathise totally with the frustration you feel, but after all these years of austerity, this is yet another public service which has been rendered unable to function in any kind of meaningful way.

We applied for planning to build 1 house.. took 13 months to get approved. I wouldn't be surprised if yours took longer.

It is possible to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate (an independent body) on the grounds of non-determination. However, this will effectively start the process again with them, so may not be any quicker. It may be worthwhile if you feel the Council are heading towards a refusal anyway, which you can appeal against, so it puts you one step ahead.
www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200207/appeals/108/types_of_appeal

You could ask to speak to the manager and ask for a definitive time line.
You could speak to your local councillor about the poor service and see if they can get things moved on for you.
Otherwise you really are in their hands. I would keep ringing the Case Officer - at least weekly. Persistence can pay off.

Sorry to hear about this. I am a planning officer and can honestly tell you that it has been commonplace recently for planning departments to be halved and the remaining officers having to pick up the extra work. Central govt is stopping giving grants to local authorities so we have to rely on business rates and council tax and when deciding where to spend council tax it always goes to social care and highways, a lot of the environmental services get left out.

Unless you have formally agreed an extension of time with them then you could lodge an appeal for non-determination, or at least threaten to do so. Other than that the only advice I can give is to keep nagging them. Do you have a consultant working for you or did you submit the application yourself?

We have a consultant working for us.

I now feel sorry for the planners. I hadn't thought of the extra pressure they're under because of the cuts!

Hahaha don't worry, and if it makes you feel any better I have seen applications take over 2 years to determine!!

I would get your consultant to keep up the nagging for you, and also check that if they have asked anything of you that you get it back to them as soon as you can.

I had a planning application take 12 months.
I was told by my consultant that these deps have targets to work to, but once they miss a deadline on a particular application - that application will then fall to the bottom of their priorities as they've already missed the deadline which will now permanently impact their stats , so they'll endeavour to finalise new applications earlier (within the deadlines) in order to improve their stats that way.

"I was told by my consultant that these deps have targets to work to, but once they miss a deadline on a particular application - that application will then fall to the bottom of their priorities as they've already missed the deadline which will now permanently impact their stats , so they'll endeavour to finalise new applications earlier (within the deadlines) in order to improve their stats that way."

What the hell?

So they've just come round to look at the plot again. Different planning officers this time.

I reminded them that they'd asked for a two week extension two weeks ago and when did they think they'd make their decision. She said she'd only just started on this now. So why did she ask for only a two week extension?

I am annoyed again now.

We applied for a building warrant to knock down a wall between two small rooms and insert a joist. It took exactly 6 months .

I surprised that your consultant didn’t tell you that these applications can take quite a long time.

Are you in Scotland 0LIVE?

Olive, I know these applications can take quite a long time but the reasons they've given for taking such a time seem to be daft.

I was looking for ways to speed them up.

And we wonder why we have a housing shortage!!! It’s planning departments!

Very few larger applications are determined in time. They have not been for years. Yes, they may ask for an extension of time or alternatively turn them down on the eve of the time running out. That’s normal practice around here. Rather than negotiate, they find something that doesn’t quite meet a policy. For example, final details of building materials. You then appeal and get it. Costs the applicant loads and the council gets more easy applicants through to meet targets because it dodges the difficult decisions or time consuming negotiation.

Of course they are dodging making a decision. Some around me are already at 18 months of waiting. The planners know they must look at trees, highway alterations, roof heights, drainage, etc. The have guidance for all of this. Austerity is the new word for decision dodging! Keep on at them.

Are you in Scotland 0LIVE

Yes of course . Otherwise we wouldn’t have to wait for the building warrant.

Gosh bubbles actually there are thousands of unbuilt planning permissions.. it’s the house builders that are creating the housing shortage!

So now they want to refuse the planning permission.

They told us in December 2017 that they wanted to see the houses ridge heights lowered. That's all. We complied.

Now after extension after extension, they're planning to refuse. Totally messed around by them.

Do I have a case to appeal? Or even sue them? It's the total lack of communication over the weeks despite contacting them over and over.

If they haven't already refused it and they are outside of any agreed extension then I would appeal on grounds of non-determination

If they have already issued the refusal then I would appeal the refusal

If you are able to let me know which authority it is and the application red number I could have a look and give you more detailed advice?

You can appeal. It really depends on the reasons that the Council has refused the application as to how successful an appeal would be. I am surprised your consultant didn't see a refusal coming though.

Seefine, me too! She's not been terribly responsive or proactive up until now. Suddenly she's on fire, responding to everything very quickly.
🙄

Appeal, as someone said further up the thread, once the deadline for consideration has been passed it's not met the government targets so it does not matter when they consider the application.

Well they've suggested more issues now so we've extended another two weeks. 🙄

In fact they've said that one of those issues they've just brought up this the round probably means that they're going to refuse our application. After months of to-ing and fro-ing.

It is quite common for Councils to try and sort all things that can be resolved before refusing an application. It makes any subsequent appeals more straightforward.
What is the issue likely to cause refusal?

It's called a neighbourhood plan. We are outside the village boundary.

It's not even come into effect yet. There's a local referendum next month on it. They've only brought it up now.

However, 3,000 home are being built around us in the coming months. This would mean the neighbourhood plan would start in the village, stop where the 3,000 homes are being built and then continue where we are. It's all very odd.

120 are being built two fields along from us and 70 are being built in the field opposite those 120. They too are in the neighbourhood plan.

This plan is the basis on which they're going to refuse our application. They've said. We are trying to understand more and sort out why this has suddenly become a factor and never mentioned before.

Village boundaries in Neighbourhood Plans would normally correspond with village boundaries in the Council Local Plan. Is your site within the village in that Plan or not? If it's not within the village boundary that will make an approval more difficult. It would be unusual to refuse a development on the basis of a plan that isn't even adopted, so am assuming that the Local Plan says the same thing. However, I am surprised that it has taken so long for the issue to be mentioned.

We too are very surprised it's taken this long to be mentioned. And yet they have approved builds all around us.

I need to study the latest correspondence.