Getting planning officers to hurry up

[Drellingore]

Any advice on how to get planning officers to hurry up?

 

Firstly, our planning officer is a lovely lady who is massively over-worked. However she did forget to approach half the consultees for five weeks which caused a big delay. She then suggested a determination deadline extension of a month, which has come and gone. She wanted to check an issue with her line manager, but her line manager was off for a week and then our planning officer was off the next week (which was also the week before her nominated extension deadline). The issue she wanted to check is moot: the red line in our BNG plans didn't match that in the site plan, but we're exempt from the BNG requirements anyway. We've now not heard from her in two weeks, despite several emails and voicemails. The application was validated on 18th June, so 100 days/14 weeks ago at the time of writing. 

 

I don't want to aggravate her into doing the easiest thing to get us to go away (declining the application) and I don't especially want to piss people off, but this is getting a bit daft. Appealing to the inspectorate for non-determination means a guaranteed delay of about six months though.

 

I'm thinking of mentioning by email that I'd like the application 'escalated', and if I don't hear back then email the department inbox in an attempt to get the attention of her manager. If that doesn't work, I'll mention by email that I'm thinking of complaining to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, to see if that focuses their attention. I guess the last arrow in the quiver is to threaten to take it to the inspectorate.

 

Any other ideas or suggestions?

[Mr Punter]

Have you seen any responses from consultees?  The planning officer will often wait for all these before they write their report.  It may be worth emailing her to establish if she is likely to support your proposal.  Forget the 'escalated' bit as it is inflammatory and will just piss her off.  Same for the Ombudsman complaint.  You need to play nicely.

[Alan Ambrose]

>>> Appealing to the inspectorate for non-determination means a guaranteed delay of about six months though.

 

Actually a year.

 

I have seen before an informal appeal used to the case officer's boss - the org chart of your LPA is probably published like ours is. Another avenue is the councillor for your area - if anything like ours, that person and their contact details is shown on your planning application on your LPA's portal.

 

An increasingly common problem I think, let us know how you get on.

[Alan Ambrose]

>>> You need to play nicely.

 

Yeah, our neighbours did - and their non-contentious application took the LPA a year. By which time the economics of what the neighbours were planning had changed for the worse and so having gained permisssion now, they don't intend to use it.

Edited September 26 by Alan Ambrose

[ToughButterCup]

20 minutes ago, Drellingore said:

Any advice on how to get planning officers to hurry up?...

 

Learn patience.

 

[Drellingore]

1 hour ago, ToughButterCup said:

Learn patience.

 

Can't tell if joking, despite the signature. We waited a year for our last application to get a committee hearing. I've learned patience.

 

1 hour ago, Mr Punter said:

Have you seen any responses from consultees?

 

Yep. National Landscape (FKA AONB) had some nits to pick but didn't object outright, and we published a rebuttal of their concerns. They've all had well over the mandatory period to give a response. Parish Council, Highways, EA all approve. 

[phykell]

On 26/09/2024 at 16:59, Drellingore said:

I'm thinking of mentioning by email that I'd like the application 'escalated', and if I don't hear back then email the department inbox in an attempt to get the attention of her manager. If that doesn't work, I'll mention by email that I'm thinking of complaining to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, to see if that focuses their attention. I guess the last arrow in the quiver is to threaten to take it to the inspectorate.

 

Any other ideas or suggestions?

I suspect many of us have been told the planning officers are overworked and the departments are understaffed, people are on holiday or extended sick leave - it seems likes it's an epidemic since the the pandemic (!) as they blithely miss validation, decision and determination dates. I'm not saying that the individuals are not doing their job but something's very wrong and it's unlikely to change in the short term in terms of funding, extra staff, better allocation of resources, etc. However, the one thing that seems to get lost is the fact that we are not "asking" the council to consider a planning application as just another member of the public, we are customers, paying them a substantial amount of money to do so and we should be treated as such. There should be a much clearer route for handling complaints and a published service level agreement.

 

Based on my own experience, I wouldn't wait any longer than I have to. I'd escalate as you suggest, by copying in your case officer's manager and the LPA's general inbox email address with a clear plan of further actions as you suggest and make sure you document every call, email or action taken. 

[Temp]

In some areas planning officers are part time, only working 3 days a week. I believe they work the other 2 days at another county.

[ToughButterCup]

On 26/09/2024 at 18:48, Drellingore said:

Can't tell if joking, despite the signature. We waited a year for our last application to get a committee hearing. I've learned patience.

....

 

Or fund Local Authorities properly.

[Alan Ambrose]

FYI there is a record low in both planning applications & planning approvals - so how are they overworked?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn034n47528o

 

 

[Drellingore]

Quick update - I emailed my local MP (who was sadly no use) and the local councillor. The councillor was more helpful and volunteered to be CC'd on all further communications, and shortly afterwards we got some 'progress' (telling us about issues that they could have told us about months ago).

[Alan Ambrose]

Thanks for the update, I'm just about to email my own councillor to see if they can help speed the process up a bit.

[FuerteStu]

On 28/09/2024 at 18:19, Alan Ambrose said:

FYI there is a record low in both planning applications & planning approvals - so how are they overworked?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn034n47528o

 

 

I think this area is like most specialities in local authorities. 

 

Efficiency equals redundancy, inefficiency means a job for life. 

 

Time for another meeting about planning the next meeting. 

[ToughButterCup]

On 28/09/2024 at 18:19, Alan Ambrose said:

FYI there is a record low in both planning applications & planning approvals - so how are they overworked?

....

 

 

The Enforcement Officer who worked on an Enforcement issue with our neighbour dropped in at our place to have a chat last week.

 

He had recently retired. Over a coffee we talked through exactly the issue you raise above. The picture is messy. But broadly he sees colleagues in our LPA  and in East Lancashire (where he has friends and ex- colleagues) being expected to be more productive with less resource. To an extent that has been achieved. But our area is booming: the A6 Development Corridor. Planners are running to stand still. Lancaster itself (neighbouring authority) is fizzing with development.

 

The picture is indeed muddied by (as you hint) some poor practice, and - in my direct experience - sheer unexplainable laziness. 

 

But the bigger picture is one where everyone has to do more with less.  That's now the norm. If as has undeniably happened, LPAs budgets have been cut so much that they fail, it is easier to argue for privatisation. I have in mind the leaked video of Sunak addressing Conservative Party activists talking with pride about deliberately  withholding funding from Labour controlled areas.

 

Behaviour like that is inexcusable from any political party.