Planning Objection http://planningobjection.com Fight the good fight Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:44:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Sharing the space on London roads http://planningobjection.com/sharing-the-space-on-london-roads/ http://planningobjection.com/sharing-the-space-on-london-roads/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:44:19 +0000 admin http://planningobjection.com/?p=19 Here is an interesting article about sharing space on London roads.

share space

]]> http://planningobjection.com/sharing-the-space-on-london-roads/feed/ 1 Transport planning http://planningobjection.com/transport-planning/ http://planningobjection.com/transport-planning/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:37:06 +0000 admin http://planningobjection.com/transport-planning/ A good book about transportation planning

good book

]]> http://planningobjection.com/transport-planning/feed/ 1 Keeping up property prices http://planningobjection.com/keeping-up-property-prices/ http://planningobjection.com/keeping-up-property-prices/#comments Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:54:32 +0000 admin http://planningobjection.com/keeping-up-property-prices/ When house prices are falling, some fall further than others. A study shows that property closer to the city centre falls by less than property which is further out. People place quite a high value on their travel time.

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2011/10/why-suburbs-near-cities-weather-recessions-better/358/

]]> http://planningobjection.com/keeping-up-property-prices/feed/ 0 bathroom remodel ideas http://planningobjection.com/bathroom-remodel-ideas/ http://planningobjection.com/bathroom-remodel-ideas/#comments Thu, 13 May 2010 13:04:03 +0000 admin http://planningobjection.com/?p=15 do it yourself bathroom remodeling

Often when I am going to somebody’s home to give them a toilet reworking guess, I provide them with many of the questions and answers, that they are ever going to need.  This is how I do business, but some contractors do not do business this way.  Therefore , it’s down to you, the homeowner to ask your rest room reworking contractor the proper questions.  
 
 one.  How long is the job going to take, before it’s completed?  
 
 2.  Is my job going to be a concern for your Construction Company or are you doing more work at this time than you can handle?  
 
 3.  Are you going to be here each day and if not, who will be overseeing the job?  Make sure that you meet and get together with the person who is going to be in control and working on your home each day, until the projects completed.  
 
 four.  Do you have a repayment schedule and does your rest room remodeling guess have each item in it, so I can compare it to the other contractor’s estimates?  
 
 five.  Do you guarantee your work and if so for how many years?  Ensure that you understand what your contractor is and isn’t guaranteeing.  I do not guarantee any products or building materials, just because I don’t make them.  As a rest room reworking contractor, it’s my job to assemble these products, not to guarantee them.  
 
 six.  How will we handle any Problems while the work is in progress or after the project is completed?  
 
 seven.  Will you be working on my project each day until it’s completed?  This could become a big problem for contractors who are taking on more work than they can handle.  
 
 8.  Can you provide me with a copy of your culpability insurance?  And employees compensation insurance, if they have employees?  
 
 There are plenty of other questions you can ask your bathroom reworking contractor about your project.  Make sure that you create an inventory of questions and concerns and go over them with your rest room transforming contractor.  If you’re not kidding about hiring a good contractor and you actually do not want to have plenty of issues while working on your project, you must clear up as many of the Problems as you can, before the job starts.  
 
 Of all of the rooms in the home the 2 most critical to transform are the kitchen and loo.  These are two of the first rooms that guests generally see when they come into your home and a couple of the most used so it is only logical to concentrate on these rooms.  When it comes to kitchen and rest room transforming you do need to take some time and ensure you are getting the job finished right because it can be costly.  To get off on the right foot there are a few choices for kitchen and rest room transforming you want to make.  
 
 the simplest way to figure out what direction you would like to go with your kitchen refurbishment is to consider what sort of worktops you need in the room.  Every kitchen desires countertops of some sort and this is often one of the toughest choices to make.  If you eat out more than you cook you are not going to want to worry about having too much counter space.  No matter what a home can gain advantage from a gorgeous island installed somewhere in the middle of the room for aesthetic appeal but also storage purposes.  
 
 The floor of your kitchen is also a big decision and it is best to spend rather more money and get a better quality floor.  Ceramic tile and hardwood flooring are two of the preferred choices for kitchen flooring.  Vinyl works for some but it doesn’t look all that nice and can be damaged quite easily.  When it comes to the bathroom you can commence with the arrogance and work your way round the room.  
 
 when you select what sort of vanity you are interested in seeing in the toilet you pretty much have the style of design selected for you.  You will go for an older style vanity and have the room with a vintage or traditional feel.  Or if you like modern looking sinks and mirrors that might be the better choice.  It’s your home so work out what you enjoy and what you would want to see in your lavatory each day.  
 
 There are pros and cons to either side of things, having a bath and not.  It’ll save a lot of room and money.  For the kitchen and lavatory remodeling you might want to call in an expert to get their ideas on things.  At least then you can get a professional opinion and ensure you are doing things right first.

]]> http://planningobjection.com/bathroom-remodel-ideas/feed/ 0 How to lobby a planning committee http://planningobjection.com/how-to-lobby-a-planning-committee/ http://planningobjection.com/how-to-lobby-a-planning-committee/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:22:17 +0000 admin http://planningobjection.com/?p=8 When objecting to a planning application, it is vital that you research the planning committee. With the help of PlanAct, I have been able to learn how to do this. Now you can too!

As part of your research, focus on the planning committee, establishing exactly who sits on it, how many votes you need to win and who is most likely to support you. This will help you create communication strategies to target the members of the planning committee.

Lobbying is in theory simple. As a local resident you elect representatives to take decisions on your behalf. When the time comes for them to make a decision on which you feel passionately, it is your right to approach them in order for your views to be heard. This in theory should help them shape their opinion. Their job after all is to represent you when making collective decisions on the future of your community.

However, it’s not always that easy. I will give you tips on how to get the most out of your elected representatives.
There are two important things you need to remember about politicians. The first is what is important to them and the second is their sources of information. Take a minute to think, what are the most important issues in the average planning committee’s members mind or any other politician for that matter? Their list of priorities is probably something like the following:
1. How are they going to get re-elected at the next election?
2. Who is going to oppose them in the next election?
3. What issues are they going to challenge them on?
4. How well are they serving their constituents?
5. How should they vote on the planning application before them?

The point is that you and your campaign are pretty low in the average decision makers list of priorities. All of the other things higher on the list will have much more direct impact on their lives in the short and long term and, with a little attention from them, they will have much more impact on those things.

The second thing to remember is that decision makers are being bombarded with information everyday. They get news on television and the radio, they get reports at work, they get advertisements all the time, and they hear that juicy piece of gossip about the neighbour down the street. Your campaign message has to break through that thick wall of other information. You can guarantee that developers are feeding information to your elected representatives at all times, whether this is details on the plans, details on their consultation exercises, figures from polls or questionnaire answers or detailed reports on their exhibitions and how the plans have evolved as a result of community input.

Committee Rules
It is important to first determine the rules on the planning Committee that will be deciding your future. Much of the basic strategy depends on this information. Is it a majority decision, unanimous? Can you speak at Committee? When do Members have to abstain? How can you lobby them? What can developers not do? All this information is key to ensuring you are playing within the rules and forcing the developers to do the same.

Local Development Framework
You should definitely research the Local Development Framework (LDF) and, if it’s complicated, you may want to ask a planning advisor or a lawyer to draft a memo outlining how the planning application fits into it. It may violate multiple points. If you can show the planning application violates the LDF that makes a very strong case.

The Committee
Once you have determined the basic rules of the committee, you should start to gather as much information on the committee members as possible. How large are their electorates? How geographically close are they to the planning application? How big are their majorities? What was turnout like? When are they up for re-election? What are the main issues they campaign on? Does a planning committee member have an interest in the development? This may affect their decision and by knowing you can insist they remove themselves from the decision. You need to understand the political landscape in which you will be operating.

Information Sources?
You also must understand how the planning committee get their information. What are the local media outlets? Who are the reporters and what are their deadlines? How will the campaign be covered and how does the press view the various parties? To develop a comprehensive media strategy, it is important to have as much information on the media as possible.

Other Elected Representatives?
Get in touch with your elected officials. Invite them to a meeting, offer them a site visit so they can see your objections, get your supporters to contact them and remember that they will be looking for votes in the future! The more people get in touch with them, the more likely they are to support your position.
Who are the important political players in the area? How strong are the various political parties in the area? Who are the civic and business leaders that can influence the campaign? Winning the support of a particularly influential leader in the community can often make the campaign much easier.

Why is targeting politicians important?
So, while you are spending hours and hours, days and days, months and months, thinking about, worrying about, doing something about this campaign, decision makers will give you only limited time and attention. You must not waste it. Your goal is to tie your campaign to their number 1 priority. How are they going to get re-elected at the next election?
Developers understand this. That is why they come up with a clear, concise message and spend a lot of money making sure their seen to be negotiating with the community, and with decision makers. If they can tell decision makers that their plans are controversial but well supported in the community then they have won. If they can demonstrate community support they are home and dry.
Because your representative is democratically elected to represent the views of constituents, your job is to ensure your elected representative:
· Is informed about the issue
· Understands your position and those of other residents
· Becomes convinced that your position is the one they should adopt.

How to lobby effectively?
There are many different ways to lobby your elected representatives. All of them have value. What you need to remember is that you hold the power in the relationship. They rely on you and others like you for votes. Developers will be lobbying these officials too and will be providing your elected representatives with information on the project, the benefits and the impact it will have. This is obviously a biased source. Therefore providing them with an alternative source of information is a must. In all but the rarest of cases, these developers will not form part of the electorate, and this is your advantage.
The key to success lies in your preliminary research into the key decision makers. It is no good spending time lobbying someone who has no influence in the decision making process. Use your political and stakeholder audit to identify the members of the planning committee, your own local councillors and Member of Parliament. Take the time to identify those that will be coming up for re-election soon. These are ultimately your easiest targets as they will be keen to patter to public opinion in the hope this will help them when the time comes for re-election.
Keep the process simple. Start by introducing your organisation, the issue, and your campaign. This can be achieved by:
· Writing a letter
· Sending an email
· Through a phone conversation
· A Visit to their surgery (call their office for times)

A truly successful campaign will use a blend of all four actions to ensure your elected representative is fully briefed on your activities. They want to be kept informed, know how good a job they are doing, and what is troubling you because they need your vote in the next election. Theoretically, your troubles are their troubles – although it may take a little pressure for them to take on board your campaign. Always close your letters or emails with the line “I look forward to your reply”, or your ER may not reply. Remember your power is that your representative is obliged to respond to your requests, and listen to your concerns. They will be campaigning for your vote soon enough.
If they are supportive of the issue, invite them to take part in an action and advise local media of their support. Getting even one to commit to supporting you will add weight and credibility to your campaign. It will also increase the likelihood of others joining. Make sure you get any support in writing so that they are tied in to supporting you.

Politicians will try hard not to get tied down to a position. So over time, you may have to start upping the ante to get them on board. A variety of techniques can be used from:
· Getting a letter published in the local paper explaining the issue and your elected representatives’s inaction.
· Organising a public meeting on the issue and inviting your ER – and if they are “unable to attend”, request they send someone else to speak on their behalf or submit a written statement stating their position.
· Pressuring the local media to ascertain their position.
· Get local school children to write letters.
· Speaking to political opponents. They are always looking for divisive community issues that have popular support.

For more help get in touch with the people at PlanAct: [http://www.planact.co.uk]

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]]> http://planningobjection.com/how-to-lobby-a-planning-committee/feed/ 0 Planning Objection Guide @ Save Heaton Park http://planningobjection.com/planning-objection-guide-save-heaton-park/ http://planningobjection.com/planning-objection-guide-save-heaton-park/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:19:48 +0000 admin http://planningobjection.com/?p=7 Save Heaton Park

Our campaign to save a beautiful open part of Heaton Park, becoming a private, pay to use Goals Soccer Centre

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Residents say: Save Heaton Park Save Heaton Park – Video of 5th July Rally » Planning Objection Guide

This entry was posted Tuesday, 7 July, 2009 at 5:20 am

Many thanks to local resident Guy Dickinson for this information

Lodging a planning application objection will take you 2 minutes.

You must lodge an objection by 20th July – go and do it right now!

1) Go to this page (it redirects to the Mancs Council planning site) – http://tinyurl.com/leuakn

2) Fill in your details and then carefully select the various options:

3) COMMENTATOR TYPE: Neighbour (obviously if you live near the park, you’re a neighbour)

4) REASONS:

(hold down the ctrl key to select multiple reasons. Mac users hold down command key. It’s the key with the apple symbol next to the space bar) I chose:

Ecology
Light
Loss of trees
Noise or Disturbance
Parking
Traffic
Visual Amenity

5) MAKE SURE YOU SELECT THE OPTION Inform the Authority that you object to the Planning Application.

6) COMMENTS:

As I understand it, planning decisions apply more weight to objections/concerns over traffic and pollution, parking and environmental concerns. Your objection is likely to carry less weight if you simply object on grounds of aesthetic or tradition.

As an example of what can be written see this site, which you may wish to use as a template. Category: News
You can follow any responses to this entry via RSS.
You can leave a comment or trackback from your own site. 8 Comments to Planning Objection Guide

Tim Pickstone » Blog Archive » Save Heaton Park Videos says:

July 8th, 2009 at 7:52 am

[...] Here’s how to object. [...]

Object Now! @ Save Heaton Park says:

July 10th, 2009 at 9:04 am

[...] planning applicaiton to Manchester Council. Send in your responses by 20 July 2009. See this guide or download our leaflet now. Category: News You can follow any responses to this entry via RSS. [...]

Tim Pickstone » Blog Archive » Object Today! says:

July 10th, 2009 at 9:05 am

[...] planning applicaiton to Manchester Council. Send in your responses by 20 July 2009. See this guide or download our leaflet [...]

Heaton Park Soccer Centre – Object Today! | myPRESTWICH says:

July 10th, 2009 at 9:09 am

[...] planning applicaiton to Manchester Council. Send in your responses by 20 July 2009. See this guide or download our leaflet now. heatonpark, [...]

Andrew Garner » Blog Archive » OBJECT TODAY! says:

July 10th, 2009 at 9:49 am

[...] Centre’s planning applicaiton to Manchester Council. Send in your responses by 20 July 2009. See this guide or download our leaflet [...]

VIC DALBERT » Blog Archive » OBJECT TODAY! says:

July 11th, 2009 at 2:16 pm

[...] planning applicaiton to Manchester Council. Send in your responses by 20 July 2009. See this guide or download our leaflet [...]

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]]> http://planningobjection.com/planning-objection-guide-save-heaton-park/feed/ 0 Mynydd y Gwair Planning Objection Form « Dr. Myron Evans http://planningobjection.com/mynydd-y-gwair-planning-objection-form-dr-myron-evans/ http://planningobjection.com/mynydd-y-gwair-planning-objection-form-dr-myron-evans/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:17:47 +0000 admin http://planningobjection.com/?p=6 Dr. Myron Evans

Thoughts on Science, History, Poetry and Politics « Strong Objections to the Mynydd y Gwair Proposal Feedback for 2009 » Mynydd y Gwair Planning Objection Form

By metric345

To whom it may concern

I request anyone anywhere in the world who is concerned with basic freedom and democracy to fill out one of these forms and return it to Cardiff either by mail or by e mail. A civil court injunction may also be taken out by all parties combined against this greed ridden assault because it is unlawful. It will completely destroy a unique ecology (www.socme.org) for no reason except that of human greed. There is no global warming, carbon dioxide does not cause runaway global warming, and on a cold windless winter’s day, wind turbines would not generate the warmth of a single coal fire. This form does not bother to use my earned titles of Professor and Gentleman, and did not even bother to use the Welsh language, that of half the people here in Mawr, and my own native language. Even minor damage of the environment is prohibited by Swansea Council by laws, so why is complete destruction being touted so arrogantly? The answer is the crazed greed of an absentee landowner, David Somerset Duke of Beaufort working in collaboration with a foreign company.

Professor Myron Wyn Evans, Gent., B. Sc., Ph. D., D. Sc. (Wales) of Glyn Eithrym,
British Civil List Pensioner in Science,
President Alpha Institute for Advanced Study.

aplanningobjectionform.pdf

]]> http://planningobjection.com/mynydd-y-gwair-planning-objection-form-dr-myron-evans/feed/ 0 Planning objection committee meeting.? http://planningobjection.com/resolved-question-planning-objection-committee-meeting/ http://planningobjection.com/resolved-question-planning-objection-committee-meeting/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:10:26 +0000 admin http://planningobjection.com/?p=4 Question

honey asks: ()

Opposite my home is a caravan site who have put in an application to the council for various alterations at the site including changing from being open 7 months of the year to open all year around (365 days). I have serious objections (sewerage, drainage, & highway safety), the applicant himself this year requested speed cameras by the site, & my husband was knocked down & killed on the same road 6 years ago next month) all of which I have put in writing to the council. I received a letter from the council informing me that I can speak at the planning committee & the applicants can put their case after me. The problem I have is, all of the relevant points of objection are in the letter, & I’m a very nervous speaker, I feel that I will be not adding anything further to the proceedings. Will my appearance be in my favour, or should the letter be enough. They are serious objections, but will they be brushed aside as I live in Wales and the council are very for tourism

Answers

jillions…: (2 years ago)

From my experience, you can meet such people as the Chair of the Planning Committee prior to any hearing, to learn their views.

Also in public meetings, they like to air their views, not hear yours. They may refer to your letter / comments, sometimes incorrectly i.e. glossing over any errors, over-sights they have made, and rarely do the public get the chance to speak. The most you may able to contribute is a nod or a smile.

You can always take someone with you – an architect perhaps, who is used to such meetings, who will speak on your behalf, directing their attention to areas considered important / crucial to a fair decision being reached.

]]> http://planningobjection.com/resolved-question-planning-objection-committee-meeting/feed/ 0 Neighbours proposed extension – Does anyone know calculate shadows lengths at different times of the year? http://planningobjection.com/resolved-question-neighbours-proposed-extension-does-anyone-know-calculate-shadows-lengths-at-different-times-of-the-year/ http://planningobjection.com/resolved-question-neighbours-proposed-extension-does-anyone-know-calculate-shadows-lengths-at-different-times-of-the-year/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:09:27 +0000 admin http://planningobjection.com/?p=3 Question

Teresaaa… asks: (IE8)

My neighbours to the west of us (we are in UK) , already have a west facing extension at the back which cuts the sun we would have had when it came round in the late afternoon and early evening to our patio. For that reason we sit further down our garden at a smaller patio we crated to obtain the sun then rather than sit on the patio adjoining the back of our house. They are now planning to extend the already long extension by adding another room on the end. This is going to cause long shadows to form far earlier in the late afternoon and evening over our garden. This will in effect block he sunlight to the smaller patio as well much earlier than it does now.
My question is – is there any website that you know of where you can say put in a height and it will tell you how much shadow is cast at different times of the day from the height given. Perhaps one where you could put in time of year as well and it would work out the length of shadow being cast. Or has anyone got an idea how to do this. In my planning objection I wanted to state about how much earlier our garden would be cast in shadow due to the new extension at certain times of the summer.

Answers

Sasha S: (2 years ago)

Plant a 10ft pole in the yard in front of where they are planning their addition and then measure it at various times of the day. The position of the sun at various times of the year will affect the angle of the shadow, but not the length. The time of day will affect both, though.

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