Planning Assistants

[Polstar]

Hey up everyone. I am having trouble with a planning assistant!!

I am guessing that a planning assistant is not a qualified planning officer and i was wondering how on earth can one build bridges with the planning team rather than butt heads with them?

I feel as though so many are in-experienced and cannot really go on anything other than what they are told by legislation.

I don't really know what i am trying to say, but i feel as though it is a constant battle with the planning office in general when all my householder applications are so straight forward that a little common sense sometimes would make the whole process easier, quicker and less work for everyon involved! Does anyone share my feelings?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Completely, there are so many inconsistencies with advice regarding domestic stuff that you just have to get yourself as informed as possible to minimize any need to contact them regarding advice. The only thing I consider its worth contacting them for nowadays is whether a house retains its PD rights or not though this is becoming a real chore in itself these days with some LA's. It took me about 3 weeks for one LA to finally confirm that they didn't know and what was their answer? Either pay the £80 for them to officially manually search through their archives or whack in a LDC application for £75 whereupon they would have had to manually search their achieves! The planners can make you look like a right idiot if you're not careful. Its like they've never been asked such a thing before. I still get caught out though, I had an application invalidated recently because I didn't include a 1:200 block plan. Yet I can find dozens of similar applications in the recent past that don't include so much as a site plan yet alone a block plan. I have never once included a 1:200 block plan. As well as plans I always include a site plan and 1:1250 loc plan.

As with all professions though there are good and bad eggs.

 

[Polstar]

Freddy, how long have you been in the game? how do you manage to learn what they all want etc? I have recently been asked to produce a sound attenuation scheme for a loft conversion - they actually conditioned it too so there is another fee to discharge it! I submitted amended plans with a drylining solution to the party walls and the Public Health Officer came back asking for me to...

"Further to your recent memorandum concerning the above, I note the applicant has submitted plans annotated with the intended sound insulation scheme. However, I note that this is proposed for the walls. However, there is nothing on the submitted plans which show how air and impact sound will be attenuated. The applicant is recommended to install sound insulation mats for air and impact sound in all habitable areas including the goings.
I am not able therefore to discharge this condition at this time"

i can't beleive it! this is the instance that has led me to writing this post as i asked the planning officer if this was really necessary and all the 'planning assistant' came back with is "i'll ask the Public Health Officer again"!!!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Well I've never been asked for a sound attenuation scheme for a loft conversion ..... yet!

I've worked for commercial practices for about 24 years doing allsorts, been doing smaller domestic stuff for about the last 5 years as PJs.

 

[^woody^]

The problems start when the planning people start asking officers from other depts for comment - because those people don't know a lot about planning law, so comment in terms of some or other law or regulation ... and then that comes back to you as the planning requirement.

I had a recent case where a highways officer was quoting highway parking law and [mis]interpreting the councils policy on public parking and car parking and applying it to a domestic drive. He was not even man-enough to admit his error when I showed him the actual documents. And it got worse when the planner was not prepared to go against the highways officers word- even though he admitted it was wrong and inapplicable. What a nightmare

Anyway, back to the loft, I can't see how a planner can condition a plan to a potentially higher specification than permitted under building regulations. I'd argue that it can't be a valid condition as sound insulation is controlled via the building regulations not planning law. You can't have two different statutes being enforced for the same thing

I've also noticed that planners are being even more finicky with their requirements before registering applications. I think its to do with trying to control the number of applications due to their low resources. With all elevations and floor plans and site plans and details required, it's a job fitting them on small manageable sheets

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Yea and then you see some applications done by Joe Public with some God awful fag packet hand drawn sketches with part plans and part eles no site plan etc etc and yet they get registered all the same!

 

[Polstar]

I think that there should be a completely different office for dealing with domestic stuff seperately from the commercial stuff and the large developments. It is a different world when you are trying to get a householder extension rather than a large mullti-million pound development going!

With the highways thing, how was that resolved? I mean what redress is there when we beleive planners are being wrong (or too officious)?

 

[jeds]

There's no formula for dealing with planning assistants or officers. They don't think the same as normal people so it's impossible to anticipate what they will come up with next. It's the randomness that's most difficult to deal with. I had an application refused a few years ago for a 4 unit flat conversion because the bin stores weren't labelled. It was clearly a store and showed bins in a line but didn't have a label. My fault - there should have been one. But the result was another full process and consultation etc, and another 8 weeks. All for no fee remember. A monumental waste of time, resources and cost and all for the sake of a phone call or email.

 

[chapeau]

Email received from a Planning Assistant a couple of weeks ago....

The proposal would be classified as a raised platform and as such would require planning permission if any part is over 300mm in height.

my emphasis.

Absolute nonsense, but what do you do? It's now official 'advice' so if I ignore it (which I have) then they will be even more upset with me.

Planning officers not much better, they will happily find the guidance to fit the decision already made, and if there is no guidance they will make it up.