tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170718846507476773.post1622983926683881031..comments2022-12-13T14:45:12.233+00:00Comments on Martin Goodall's Planning Law Blog: Validating and registering planning applicationsMartin H Goodallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079479984296674469noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170718846507476773.post-84951330720418624582016-03-31T12:57:46.043+01:002016-03-31T12:57:46.043+01:00Passerby has touched on a very sinister part of va...Passerby has touched on a very sinister part of validation in the area I operate in, that is all applications are being held up under the guise that a bat report is required, even if they fall outside of the LPAs criteria requiring one. This is purely and simply workflow management, holding all applications up at registration so case officers (overworked, underpaid and fewer of them in a more stressful than ever environment) can concentrate on the applications that actually managed to be registered despite many other local validation checklist requirements contained in a 136 page document!<br /><br />Gone are the days of attaching a condition and leaving this to primary legislation, this is impacting upon the smallest of householder extensions making a mockery of reasonableness and presumption in favour of development etc. <br /><br />I feel a rant is in order, perhaps when I have some time I willAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03315995938600637825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170718846507476773.post-85191702023799728602015-03-19T17:46:51.357+00:002015-03-19T17:46:51.357+00:00Many local authorities now 'require' a Bat...Many local authorities now 'require' a Bat Emergence Study as a condition of validation. I've been mulling this one over and, in this instance, I think it's right that it should be a condition of validation. <br /><br />Emergence Studies can only be undertaken at certain times of the year so, if one was not available at the time the application was made, it seems unlikely that it could be provided within the timeframe of the application.<br /><br />One caveat to this is that bat boxes are probably cheaper than emergence studies. I don't know much about bat ecology but it seems to me that these authorities could just make the provision of bat boxes a condition of planning consent, and dispense with the emergence study altogether. I doubt that the bats would object.passerbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07133499748098929618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170718846507476773.post-63550137710315115962013-01-19T14:47:43.556+00:002013-01-19T14:47:43.556+00:00Hi Martin,
Anon here. You've hit the nail on ...Hi Martin,<br /><br />Anon here. You've hit the nail on the head in your final para. Ahh... s.54A. The addition of the word "plan" after the words "The presumption is always in favour of the development". Is there any other instance of 4 letters having such wide ranging, and surely unintentional, consequences.<br /><br />Presumtion in favour of development is every bit as important in development control as the presumtion of innocence (until proven guilty) is in the criminal juctice system.<br /><br />And we don't have presumption in favour: it is presumed against across the piece, from the public, the press, the planners et al. And that is something we haven't learnt to deal with yet.....I could go on but not now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170718846507476773.post-19236229239150329662013-01-10T16:35:55.466+00:002013-01-10T16:35:55.466+00:00Hear, hear - another excellent post. Repealing th...Hear, hear - another excellent post. Repealing the legislation would be much better than adding tiers of extra legislation on top of the mess there is already. Giving the power of validation solely to local authorities was a huge error; compounded by the ludicrous Poostchi judgment. There has to be a right of appeal. So much of the stuuf that lpas ask for is not NECESSARY at all.Dr Anton Langhttp://www.antonlangplanning.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170718846507476773.post-62996147487139884642013-01-09T10:28:46.980+00:002013-01-09T10:28:46.980+00:00Chris Weetman left a comment on 1 January that see...Chris Weetman left a comment on 1 January that seems somehow to have got lost in the system. He wrote:<br /><br />“I fully agree with the criticism of the local lists. I recently fell foul of Hyndburn BC’s local list requirement that all paper applications be supported with an electronic copy! Hardly a pre-requisite to determine the application and, as far as I’m concerned unlawful.”<br /><br />I can only add that I am sure Chris is right about the legality of this demand. It is high time the government got a proper grip on this and put a stop to all this nonsense.<br />Martin H Goodallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07079479984296674469noreply@blogger.com