Planners accused of being obstructive

A PROPERTY developer has complained to the Government that planners at his local council are being “deliberately obstructive”.

Wayne Low claimed none of the five applications he has currently with East Riding Council for new homes are being determined within the required timescales, and says it often takes more than a month simply to register a proposal.

He said matters came to a head over building a detached house in Church Road, Molescroft, which took four weeks to register, eight weeks for a site visit, then another eight weeks before a letter was sent recommending refusal.

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Mr Low has complained to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, Planning Minister Nick Boles and East Riding Council.

The developer said the reason for refusal – the accessway between two houses – had been the subject of another recent appeal, which the council had lost. And he claimed the authority had refused to take the appeal decision into consideration “which is why I am applying for costs on my appeal”.

Mr Low, who is putting together a “mountain of documentary evidence” to submit to the Local Government Ombudsman, described the situation as an “absolute farce” but warned it was costing him and other taxpayers thousands of pounds in wasted time.

He claimed the council had also refused to register another application for a detached house in St Leonards Road, Molescroft.

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Peter Ashcroft, head of planning and development management, said the council had a good track record dealing with applications promptly, but had to follow correct procedures.

He added: “These two proposals are not straightforward, as the Church Road application has been amended several times by the developer and the St Leonard’s Road case involves a proposal to use a garage not built in accordance with approved plans as a house.”

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