I visited a constituent tonight who is disappointed with the result of a planning application. No formal objections were submitted but now that the building is going up the scale and impact on the property are becoming clear.
A few months ago another application was made in a different part of Shoreham and I considered that the proposal would be detrimental from a particular aspect (being deliberately vague here, I hope you understand why). Once it was finished, it turned out to blend in nicely and to have virtually no impact.
Conversely, looking at the plans for the constituent’s neighbour you’d think that there is no impact and there really is….
As I said to the lady today, if having sat on eleven Planning Committees since my election last year, I cannot predict accurately the impact of an application, what hope have the general public got? Worse, if we cannot accurately predict the impact of an application (and if Officers reassure incorrectly too), who should the general public rely upon for clear advice on whether a Planning Application will effect them?
I am learning more and more that nothing’s as black and white as I’d like.
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#1 by Alan on June 29th, 2007 - 9:32 pm
Seems strange that no formal complaints were made, considering that it is having an effect on people’s lives now that it is built.
#2 by Gav on June 30th, 2007 - 12:02 pm
Looking at the plans, though, it is very difficult to see how it would effect them — it seems like it wouldn’t. But now that it is being built it is far more intrusive.
On this case I’m hoping that once it’s finished the overlooking window won’t nitrude too much but it looks at the moment like it will look right into the constituent’s garden and living room.
#3 by Geoffrey Newman on May 16th, 2008 - 7:38 am
I can understand how difficult it is to assess the impact of a proposal when all one is faced with is an architect’s drawing. There’s an old addage that says that something looks good on paper …
Perhaps it would help if architects produce pictures showing the proposed development in context with the surroundings. Many firms do this for large-scale developments so the tools have been tried and tested, so it shouldn’t add much cost to the plans. Besides, in this day of front-loading the planning system, something like this should be compulsory – I don’t go out and buy a washing machine based on a circuit diagram I’ve seen!
#4 by Gav on June 10th, 2008 - 10:09 pm
Thank you Mr Newman.
Things are getting better in that respect — but abgles can still be carefully selected…