Last summer I bought a house in London. It’s a small house – just two bedrooms and the only bathroom is next to one of the bedrooms – but it’s on a huge plot and there’s a lot of potential to extend it.
My architect has applied for an extension, but we’ve been waiting for a decision for six months and the planners seem to have done absolutely nothing so far. They don’t answer the phone or respond to emails. This would not be allowed in any other organization.
My house is vacant and we are in limbo paying two mortgages. Am I entitled to compensation? Can I at least get the schedule application fee back and is there no comeback at all for their behavior? GM
In some areas, planning applications drag on for months and miss the legal deadline of eight weeks
MailOnline Real estate expert Myra Butterworth replies: This is a very frustrating situation as you are paying two mortgages and you don’t know how long it will take for the planners to make a decision on your extension.
In some areas, planning applications drag on for months, even though a decision must be made within the statutory eight-week deadline.
We speak with a planning expert about what you can do best and whether you can get your money back.
We will talk to an expert about whether you are entitled to compensation and whether you can get a refund of the application costs
Martin Gaine, a chartered urban planner, explains: The scheduling system is in worse shape than I’ve known it in 15 years of practice. Planning requests drag on for months. Incredibly, some are never decided at all. It is almost impossible to reach individual planners by phone and emails are regularly ignored.
I last worked as a file manager in municipal councils almost ten years ago, and although we complained about workload, we rarely missed an eight-week deadline for issuing a decision.
According to government statistics, the eight-week deadline is currently met in less than half of cases. Council planning departments have never been examples of efficiency, but the system is currently in a state of partial collapse.
It’s especially frustrating for you because your house is empty while you wait to build and renovate before you move in. I have several clients in exactly the same position. So, what can be done?
There is a mechanism in the scheduling system to solve this problem.
You have the right to appeal to the planning inspection on the basis of ‘not ascertainable’, ie on the basis that no decision has been made within the statutory period of eight weeks. The Planning Inspectorate is a government body separate from the City Councils and based in Bristol.
However, there are a number of drawbacks. The first is that appeals against denial take six months while your council is about to make a decision on your renewal.
Once you appeal, the application will be taken away from them. In other words, an appeal can only cause further delays.
The second is that it is conceivable that the council will give consent (once they have reached a decision), but an inspector may take the opposite view. It is better to find out what the council thinks of a proposal and to have a notice of objection ready if they refuse.
Rather than appeal, it is best to keep pressuring your case officer. It doesn’t help to get angry, but case handlers will likely prioritize the requests that generate the most noise.
If they continue to decline, contact their line manager and your local ward councilors. Don’t leave this to your planning agent, if you have one – they don’t feel the same urgency as you do and won’t be as willing to really cause a nuisance.
In extreme cases, where I felt an application was lost within a scheduling department, I would withdraw it and resubmit it as a new attempt, bringing the application back to the top of the pike and setting a new eight-week goal gave, what caseworkers have an incentive to meet.
The planning system does not provide for compensation if building applications are not decided (on time), but you can appeal to the municipality’s own complaints procedure and ultimately to the ombudsman of the local government.
If an application isn’t decided within six months, you can claim your fee back, but the application fee for homeowner renewals is modest – £206 – and refunding it would probably be cold comfort.
Martin Gaine is a chartered urban planner and author of ‘How to Get Planning Permission – An Insider’s Secrets