Trying to hide our shed behind the flowers- we couldn't get any haybales.
When I read in the paper that someone had built a large house without planning permission and then hidden it behind bales of hay for four years, I was pleased that there are laws to prevent this anomaly from happening more often.
When it is a bit more personal and yours truly, was applying for planning permission, instead of sitting loftily on my high horse and making harrumph noises at the antics of others, I had to jump down and be prepared to get stuck in.
Those large pieces of paper with lines drawn and redrawn became very precious and all consuming. Having watched them grow and be nurtured, wiping up dribbles through the teething problems, compromising and cajoling through those teenage traumas until they emerged, fully formed, - made me think that the issue of permission seemed only a formality.
It takes about seven to eight weeks for plans to be processed in our area, so ours were submitted and we waited patiently for the time to pass. After a suitable period I began to check for our surrogate baby online, waiting for it to appear on the council’s website. For those of you who enjoy keeping an eye on local movements, this is a wonderful medium for spying on your neighbours, without the prospect of being caught by the twitching of curtains. Everyone’s prospective housing laundry is laid out for all to view. Eventually, when there was no sign of anything happening, we investigated and realised that our plans had been sent to the wrong place so, frustratingly, we had to restart the whole process again.
Although busy with other projects, it still seemed an age before we were informed that the plans had been referred on to the planning committee to decide the outcome. When dealing with planning issues, unlike an exam result, it is not always a simple case of either a pass or fail. Straight forward applications are usually dealt with by the assigned planning officer, a more complex or controversial application can be deferred to the Planning Committee for consideration. Ours of course, wasn't as straight forward as I'd thought and we were on the 'deferred' list. This means that we would have a two minute chance to speak out for our cause and hopefully, make the roomful of committee members understand the virtues of our project. To be fair it wasn’t the whole of the plans that were in question, so we could focus just on the areas that were going to be discussed.
The morning of reckoning arrived and Nick, brief prepared and shoes shined, was dispatched to state our case. Two minutes seems a very short time to include all that you want to say, but with so many planning applications to be heard, it does focus your mind and make you succinct. Strictly no waffling allowed. And, like the call to my mother on another winter’s morning to say that her granddaughter had been born, I was waiting by the phone expectantly hoping for good news that our project could get started in earnest.
Now I know that Nick has a very persuasive manner. It certainly wasn't his shiny shoes that convinced me to marry him- but after his allotted time in the hot seat, whatever he said to the committee made them tick the boxes to allow us to have a celebratory half of lager and packet of crisps in our local afterwards.
I’m still glad that our planning wasn’t as straight forward as I’d hoped; it is comforting to know that someone is watching over our green and pleasant land - just glad we didn't have to ask our local farmer if he had any spare haybales.
Teresa x
When it is a bit more personal and yours truly, was applying for planning permission, instead of sitting loftily on my high horse and making harrumph noises at the antics of others, I had to jump down and be prepared to get stuck in.
Those large pieces of paper with lines drawn and redrawn became very precious and all consuming. Having watched them grow and be nurtured, wiping up dribbles through the teething problems, compromising and cajoling through those teenage traumas until they emerged, fully formed, - made me think that the issue of permission seemed only a formality.
It takes about seven to eight weeks for plans to be processed in our area, so ours were submitted and we waited patiently for the time to pass. After a suitable period I began to check for our surrogate baby online, waiting for it to appear on the council’s website. For those of you who enjoy keeping an eye on local movements, this is a wonderful medium for spying on your neighbours, without the prospect of being caught by the twitching of curtains. Everyone’s prospective housing laundry is laid out for all to view. Eventually, when there was no sign of anything happening, we investigated and realised that our plans had been sent to the wrong place so, frustratingly, we had to restart the whole process again.
Although busy with other projects, it still seemed an age before we were informed that the plans had been referred on to the planning committee to decide the outcome. When dealing with planning issues, unlike an exam result, it is not always a simple case of either a pass or fail. Straight forward applications are usually dealt with by the assigned planning officer, a more complex or controversial application can be deferred to the Planning Committee for consideration. Ours of course, wasn't as straight forward as I'd thought and we were on the 'deferred' list. This means that we would have a two minute chance to speak out for our cause and hopefully, make the roomful of committee members understand the virtues of our project. To be fair it wasn’t the whole of the plans that were in question, so we could focus just on the areas that were going to be discussed.
The morning of reckoning arrived and Nick, brief prepared and shoes shined, was dispatched to state our case. Two minutes seems a very short time to include all that you want to say, but with so many planning applications to be heard, it does focus your mind and make you succinct. Strictly no waffling allowed. And, like the call to my mother on another winter’s morning to say that her granddaughter had been born, I was waiting by the phone expectantly hoping for good news that our project could get started in earnest.
Now I know that Nick has a very persuasive manner. It certainly wasn't his shiny shoes that convinced me to marry him- but after his allotted time in the hot seat, whatever he said to the committee made them tick the boxes to allow us to have a celebratory half of lager and packet of crisps in our local afterwards.
I’m still glad that our planning wasn’t as straight forward as I’d hoped; it is comforting to know that someone is watching over our green and pleasant land - just glad we didn't have to ask our local farmer if he had any spare haybales.
Teresa x
