Today one of my clients was charged £75 for the administration of an invalid application for planning permission which is the first time I have ever heard of penalty charges being levied against householders. In my experience, if you apply for something and a piece of information is missing you are asked to provide it – job done.
This is obviously part of the new policy to generate funds although I haven’t had any invalid application letters for some time since I am scrupulous about checking what I need to submit. This now includes a flood risk assessment for surface water run off from existing roofs. The planning system is broken, not fit for purpose and it has become so complicated that home owners are forced to employ numerous specialists for the simplest of applications.