Is it worth ringing the planning officer?

[Jaygti]

Our planning application is currently going through the local council.

the public consultation is over, the only comment we got was from the parish council , who recommended that it be approved. 

I was just wondering if it’s worth ringing the planning officer at some point to see if there’s any information she needs etc etc. Or should I just keep my head down for a few weeks?

 

the only contact we’ve had is at the beginning when she came round to put the notice up. She knocked on the door , took a few pictures round the back of the house and then left. 

What do you think?

thanks in advance

[Ian]

it's well worth ringing them once the public consultation is over. The planning officer should now be able to let you know what their recommendation will be and also timescale for the decision notice.

[Jeremy Harris]

I agree, well worth ringing the planning officer.  I decided to do this a week or so after the end of the consultation period and the planning officer was kind enough to email me his draft report.  In it he mentioned the removal of PD rights as a condition, so I rang him, asked why PD rights were being removed and he said it was an error, from when he'd cut and pasted some text in with the standard conditions they apply.  He emailed me a new copy of his draft with the PD rights condition removed, and that version was the PP that was eventually approved.

 

It would have been a nuisance to have accidentally had PD rights removed, as it would have meant submitting a new planning application for doing pretty much anything after completion, even erecting a garden shed, so the phone call was, in my view, well worthwhile.

[Ferdinand]

1 hour ago, Jaygti said:

Our planning application is currently going through the local council.

the public consultation is over, the only comment we got was from the parish council , who recommended that it be approved. 

I was just wondering if it’s worth ringing the planning officer at some point to see if there’s any information she needs etc etc. Or should I just keep my head down for a few weeks?

 

the only contact we’ve had is at the beginning when she came round to put the notice up. She knocked on the door , took a few pictures round the back of the house and then left. 

What do you think?

thanks in advance

 

Yes, most definitely talk and keep talking, and ask explicit open and closed questions as appropriate. E.g. CAn you take me through the feedback received, and What is your feeling about the proposal, and Can you think of any improvements.

 

You need to know what is in all the objections (also ask about verbal feedback received), and what her ideas are going to be, such that you can address concerns with your solutions influencing hers not having hers imposed on you - which is the default if she does not know what your ideas are.

 

Once a decision is baked in a notice, changing it is a long and painful process. IT is much better to pre-negotiate.

 

You need to be polite but not bootlicking.

 

You also hopefully have a couple of WIBNIs in there that you can negotiate away if needed to preserve the Must Haves.

 

F

 

* Wouldn't It Be Nice If.

 

Edited January 2, 2019 by Ferdinand

[TheMitchells]

 

Thanks Jaygti, thats exactly the question I was wondering for our wet room plans, so nice to have the opinions and I plan to now give the planners a ring tomorrow - thought I'd give them a day back to catch up before pestering them.  ?

 

Good luck with yours!

Corrine.

Edited January 2, 2019 by TheMitchells

[Jaygti]

Thanks for the replies, I shall ring on Monday??