The planning maze can be cumbersome at times, some applications can take forever, the usual timeframe is 8 weeks, Our drawings can be produced in a matter of weeks and it takes longer to bake the cake than eat it.
Let us take the prime example of how slow things can be. The complete lack of coordination is one thing, but the lack of different departments within planning being separate can be compared to loose large companies full of admin and info being passed from one desk to another and lets not forget the real red tape, that's always in the background.
Sometimes planners ask for additional information, in a particular case it took planning to ask the question some three months later for a Bat Survey. It only took three whole months. This is where the telephone is useful and why sales people in the good old days did well at selling, especially as they dressed well with suits and ties and actually looked like they wanted to do business. A handshake, a gesture, direct eye contact and according to Jim Rohn "Major time is spent in the presence of the prospect" but this is another story...
Additional information was requested by a planning officer here is the email extract....
Following my site visit I have spent some time this morning looking at this application ahead of its due date on 04/02. I was under the impression that a request for a bat survey was sent out by one of my colleagues back in November before it was allocated to myself, however looking at the record I don't believe this has been sent out. Allow me to apologise for the time taken to ask for this but we would be unable to process this application without a bat survey as the site falls within a known area of bat activity with many mature trees to the rear. Once this has been received I will process this application with the urgency to deliver you a decision as soon as possible. Please let me know some rough dates...
Can you believe it!!!?
So lets just leave it at that shall we...
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