Misinformation in Planning Application

JoeBloggs22

A planning application has been submitted for a new build preschool.

• Old prefab preschool had capacity for 30 - new build 42.
• Applicant compares our village population of 750 to suburban area of up to 100,000.
• Applicant states they will employ 5 staff - legally a minimum of 9 are needed.
• At the last committee meeting the applicant stated they would need no additional staff for a wraparound service for 32 more children - breaches staffing regulations.
• The applicant ‘doctored’ the parking guidance and removed the need for visitor spaces.
• The village has approximately 10 preschool children with an existing preschool that has onsite parking with capacity.
• Opening a new larger preschool could cause the existing preschool to close.
• Applicant is providing 8 (inc 1 blue badge) parking spaces but the Parking Guidance states 14 spaces without 2 more spaces for wraparound staffing. Part time staff require 2 spaces to enable handover and no consideration for students/support staff etc.
• The preschool is within a primary school ground. 3 Primary school staff park on the old preschool site and residential streets.
• Once at capacity the residential streets could have 8-9 cars parked from 07.00-18.30hrs for 50 weeks a year leaving no space for residents visitors.
• The applicant confirms the preschool need is more than 3 miles away and in a different school catchment.
• The highways authority opposed a SEND school in the village due to the poor infrastructure and narrow roads. Planning was granted despite the highways opposition. Highways have now approved this new preschool despite the SEND school not opening yet and have taken data submitted by the applicant as factual and not checked it.
• The road from the village that has a preschool demand is an accident hotspot and has had fatalities, hence we feel our village is unsuitable.
• The old part of our village is medieval with on street residential parking and the road narrowing to single car width due to this.
• there is inadequate/lack of pavements and lighting.
• The applicant states the village has 5 buses an hour but the service provider describing it as a 2 hourly bus service.
• There has been no acoustic assessment of 42 children playing in a reduced outdoor space - instead the applicant has compared the noise to the primary school children playing in a much larger foot print. They did a heat pump assessment but redacted some data due to an increase in wind speed.
• The applicant is building over the old covered play area and not providing a covered play area despite the early year framework encouraging daily outdoor play.
• The planning authority approved expansion of 2 pubs in the village without further parking provision. The village is approaching gridlock due to on road parking.
• Addition preschoolers who will have to be driven, will only add to congestion and emissions in this rural setting.

I am sorry for this wordy post but wonder if there are any legal grounds that we could use to have the application refused.

Thank you in advance for any advice received.

flaneurs_lobster

…and people wonder why rural communities are dying on their !!!!!! rear ends.

Pollycat

Posted on the wrong board.

Not sure where more appropriate but not here.

Requested move.

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81993223#Comment_81993223

…the Rants board would seem to be the most appropriate

Pollycat

I would have thought that the planning application would give details of how to object…and the OP has certainly detailed a lot of information, some of which seems easily enough to dispute

e.g.

5 buses per hour or a 2 hourly service

RelievedSheff

You are aiming your objections at the wrong people.

Your local planning authority portal is the place to be posting this.

Myci85

With government increasing provision of free childcare hours for families, most areas do not have sufficient spaces to meet demand. The demand may not be directly in your village, but there may not be suitable spaces/people to set it up where the need is greater.

And whilst I appreciate the issues with parking, living in a rural village myself and coming from one where parking twice a day near the school was a nightmare, I don't think the issue with the bus is likely to do much to change things, as I doubt many families attending rural preschools rely on buses.

user1977

You submit the info you've given here and leave it to the planning officers to make sense of what's a legitimate planning objection and what isn't.

theartfullodger

Humbly suggest get a solicitor SPECIALISING in planning involved. And pursue via planning comitee and relevant local councillors..

Assuming (no offence but others may have alternatives to your descriptions) what has been stated is correct then this is fraud.

\In your situation I'd get solicitor to pursue under the 2006 fraud act.

Which country?? (Eg Wales, NI…)???

When party controls relevant council.???? Do hope it hasn't recently changed…

user1977

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81994395#Comment_81994395

Not much of a money-saving approach - what's the typical cost of a private prosecution? Why not just let the council figure it out and take whatever action is appropriate?

Titus_Wadd

The OP's local councillor should get able to explain their specific '"call-in" procedure. This is a request for the planning committee to discuss and decide. There's usually a time-limited spot for any interested party to speak in person at the Planning meeting and councillors ( elected reps) will vote rather than just the devolved part of the council planning officials deciding. We only get a strict 2 minute slot at our council planning meeting so rehearse your pitch to minimise rambling.

There may be a time limit for calling- in within a strict window, so contact you councillor ASAP. You should still submit your written comments via the planning portal.If you are au fait with the Local Plan, by all means quote it, but points may be no less valid if you cant.

I'm not sure spending £££ on a planning agent or solicitor would be money well spent, a reasonably literate person can plough through local policies online and tease out a few pertinent points, unless it's something very technical.