useless planning officer - any suggestions?

Grimbal

The planning officer handling our case is frustrating slow. We're now into week 11 post application submission & he's now decided to re-submit our application to the neighbours - meaning another 2 week delay (minimum)

I know the guidelines state a target of 8 weeks for a decision, but is there any redress for those that fail to meet this deadline? We're feeling pretty powerless atm

mrschaucer

I believe you can go straight to appeal for non-determination within a specific time (do check), but it p's off the PO no end. Are you likely to need them for anything again?

Grimbal

hopefully not !

This PA was to be the complete wish list of the house we eventually want. He's just so uncommunicative - we called him end of last week and he said a decision would be due this week. I called him this morning, and he said that he just "hadn't got around to it" & that a decision would be made next week now.

keystone

Useless or meticulous or just a bit slow or overworked? Poking him with sticks ain't going to make him go any faster. Actually your app might just drop to the bottom of the "to do" pile at the end of every working day if you aren't careful. Patience laddie, patience.

Cheers

Grimbal

I know, but 13 weeks?!!

Grimbal

sorry to resurrect this old thread, but we're tearing our hair out here. It's now 13 weeks since original submission & no sign of a decision! We've conceeded one of the two things that the neighbours asked for in their letter of complaint, and yet the PO has still to come to a conclusion.

Every time we call there has always been something else that he's had to do with priority over our application. We ask for a rough decision dte and he says that he'll "try for next week". We really don't want to go via the non determination route, but it really seems that we're being pushed into it

Any suggestions on how we handle this to minimise the annoyance (& potential negative outcome!) that we cause the PO?

Hintza

Did you send him a bottle of Scotch?

Seriously you could speak to his boss or to your local councillor but as I say to the kids.... "if you want an answer now you know what it will be".

Why not pop in and have a quiet friendly chat and explain why you need an answer quickly.


With Xmas surely you might as well relax until the new year there will be no builders.

ormus

its the public sector, what do you expect?
they dont live in the same world as us lot.

Dinah93

I'm a planning officer so hopefully can be of assistance. Yes, you can take it to appeal for non-determination, at which point the inspector will decide instead of the planning officer. This is free but expect it to take 8 weeks. If you started it you can withdraw the appeal if the officer makes a decision. The inspector will decide if it's a reasonable time frame, if he doesn't think all the information has been submitted to enable him to make a decision, the application will be refused. If he thinks all the info is to hand AND the proposal is acceptable, it will be approved.

Planners work to 8 week deadlines, once you go over those we've missed the target on which funding used to be based (and may soon be based again), and it doesn't matter if it takes 8 weeks and a day or 3 years.

Call the officer, ask if he has all the information needed to make a decision or if he needs anything more from you. Assuming he says yes give it till the end of the week, then call up and ask to speak to the Development Control/Management team leader. Politely ask why a householder application has taken 13 weeks.

Some authorities have already taken a 50% cut in staff, we personally have lost admin which means while a recommendation has been made on a case admin aren't processing that determination for up to two weeks so no letter is sent out. You don't know how busy this man is, yes there are certainly instances of officers not prioritising or working in the most efficient way, but equally if he has a major application for 80 houses on his desk due to go before committee in the next few weeks, that is going to devour his time, his thoughts, and anything none urgent just gets pushed aside.

Hope that helps

Grimbal

Hintza wrote: »

as I say to the kids.... "if you want an answer now you know what it will be".

Why not pop in and have a quiet friendly chat and explain why you need an answer quickly.


With Xmas surely you might as well relax until the new year there will be no builders.

This is why its sooo frustrating: we've told him that we need to start work asap before the weather sets in, in order that we can get the ground floor suitable for my elderly grandmother to stay. We have builders waiting to go !

ormus wrote: »

its the public sector, what do you expect?
they dont live in the same world as us lot.

I am fast learning that! In my job, I've worked 50+ hours a week for the last few weeks in order to get stuff done for a deadline. I called the planning office at 4:30 today for an update to find that they'd all gone home ! :mad:

Dinah93 wrote: »

I'm a planning officer so hopefully can be of assistance. Yes, you can take it to appeal for non-determination, at which point the inspector will decide instead of the planning officer. This is free but expect it to take 8 weeks. If you started it you can withdraw the appeal if the officer makes a decision. The inspector will decide if it's a reasonable time frame, if he doesn't think all the information has been submitted to enable him to make a decision, the application will be refused. If he thinks all the info is to hand AND the proposal is acceptable, it will be approved.

Planners work to 8 week deadlines, once you go over those we've missed the target on which funding used to be based (and may soon be based again), and it doesn't matter if it takes 8 weeks and a day or 3 years.

Call the officer, ask if he has all the information needed to make a decision or if he needs anything more from you. Assuming he says yes give it till the end of the week, then call up and ask to speak to the Development Control/Management team leader. Politely ask why a householder application has taken 13 weeks.

Some authorities have already taken a 50% cut in staff, we personally have lost admin which means while a recommendation has been made on a case admin aren't processing that determination for up to two weeks so no letter is sent out. You don't know how busy this man is, yes there are certainly instances of officers not prioritising or working in the most efficient way, but equally if he has a major application for 80 houses on his desk due to go before committee in the next few weeks, that is going to devour his time, his thoughts, and anything none urgent just gets pushed aside.

Hope that helps

that does - many thanks. Certainly explains why 8 weeks has become 13 with still no end in sight. I've tried calling him, and asked him if he's happy with the info he has and whether he needs anything else from us. His reply was "no, I have all I need". I then followed up with a gentle question on when we could expect a decision. "I'll try to get around to it next week". That has happened twice now! Whilst I understand prioritization of workload, I cannot understand how he fails to address a fairly simple planning application completely for thirteen weeks. I'm patently getting nowhere with the individual PO, so I think that your suggestion of a chat to the team leader may be the way to go on Monday.

muckybutt

Personally I i'd had no joy after 13 weeks of waiting i'd be having a word with the head of planning, and if needed a formall complaint going to the council.

We had a run in with a building control inspector, he wanted something that wasnt necessary and we didnt want, he wouldnt back down so we had words with his boss, an apology was forwith and he came around and apologised profusely....signed everything off job done, sometimes they need a kick up the wotsits !