Planning in Barnet Council - Proof that residents come last due to a major conflict of interest

On Monday, I was invited to a meeting at the new offices of Barnet Council for a meeting with Barnet's planning  and environment team, local residents and Barratts PLC.

A little peek at @BarnetCouncil swanky new offices in Colindale pic.twitter.com/MYOtAsQbtK

— Roger Tichborne/RogT #CTID 🏴‍☠️🇬🇧 (@Barneteye) September 18, 2019

As many local residents will know, Barratts are redeveloping the site of the National Institute for Medical Research.  Also attending were a group of residents including, the owners of businesses at Finchley Nurseries and residents affected by dust, noise and disruption.

We were informed that the discussions at the meeting were private and not for disclosure. Much as it pains me, as a blogger, this is a constraint I have to accept to be able to be trusted to attend such meetings. One of the attendees was Laurence Bard, owner of Pond Life aquatic centre at Finchley Nurseries. Last year, I made a video which outlined some of the issues he was facing and some of the problems at the site. The footage was filmed on 29th June 2018. Sadly the problems have not abated. I will be making a new video soon.



Mr Bard lost thousands of pounds worth of stock when the Special Boat Service arrived unannounced and started using the site as training ground. Large explosions were heard, which resulted in the fish suffering trauma and dying. Koi carp in tanks are susceptible to such stress. Mr Bard was not informed of the planned training exercise, the first he knew was when the bangs were heard. It is not that surprising in some ways, as his business is not listed as being their in the planning application. The site is described as 'open field to the north'. This is despite the fact that there is a house, a business that attracts thousands of people a week, a cricket and football club and a wedding venue are situated around the perimeter of the site. This has been raised many times with Barnet Council, who simply have ignored the concerns of the closest neighbours to the site. To this day, Mr Bard has received no compensation from Barratts for his losses, or for the costs of relocating fish to safer locations, whilst the demolition took place.

Appalled as I was at some of the information that came to light at this meeting, I cannot publicly repeat it. What I can say,  is that the meeting 100% confirmed to me what I had suspected from the first day I heard about Barnet Council's plans to outsource the main functions of the Council to Capita. My suspicion was always that once a private company was in charge of planning and commercial considerations became paramount, then residents concerns would be ignored.

If you do not believe me, have a look at this website. These are the services that you can pay for if you want to do a development in Barnet.

https://www.barnet.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planning/submit-planning-application/fast-track-service/fast-track-services

These are:-

Choice of Officer

Available for applications and pre-application (subject to availability)

Selection of officer

10% of application/ pre-application base fee- minimum of £55.00 (£66.00 incl. VAT) charge

Householders applications

Our services for householder applications cover all types of residential development within the curtilage of a dwelling (including house extensions, outbuildings, driveways).

Service 1 a- Registration of application within 1 working day b- Consultation of neighbouring properties within 1 working day c- Provision of an officer's recommendation within 5 weeks of validation In the event that the recommendation is to approve, note that the decision will be delegated if fewer than 5 objections are received and the application is not called in to a planning committee by a Councillor. Whilst the recommendation will be provided within 5 weeks of validation of the applications in any event, the necessary referral of an application to committee will have the effect of delaying the determination of the applications.	£384.00 (£460.80 incl. VAT)
Service 2 (applicable only if Service 1 is taken up) Visit to site within 5 working days of registration	£110.00 (£132.00 incl. VAT)
Service 3 a- Registration of application within 1 working day b- Review of the information submitted with the application within 2 working days of the site visit, if Service 2 accepted, or 5 working days from the validation (if Service 2 not accepted) c- Provision of an email setting out any required changes to the application or confirming support/refusal of the application.	£314 (£376.80 incl. VAT)
Service 4 a- Registration of application within 1 working day b- Consultation of neighbouring properties within 1 working day c- Provision of an officers recommendation within 1 working day following on from the end of the consultation period (28 days) Under this service, amendments to the scheme will be accepted at the discretion of case officers due to the time constraints. In the event that the recommendation is to approve, note that the decision will be delegated if fewer than 5 objections are received and the application is not called in to a planning committee by a Councillor. Whilst the recommendation will be provided within 5 weeks of validation of the applications in any event, the necessary referral of an application to committee will have the effect of delaying the determination of the applications.	£699.50 (£839.40 incl. VAT)
Additional and faster services	on request

Conditions and certificate of lawfulness applications

All our services for conditions and certificates include:

• The registration of a valid application within 1 working day of receipt
• The issuing of a decision notice within 1 working day of confirmation of support or within 1 working of receipt of acceptable amendments/additional information.
• For conditions applications only, the fast track fee is charged per condition.

Service 8 Accelerated review and provision of an email setting out any required changes to the application or confirming support/refusal of the application within 15 working days of registration.	£109.50 (£134.40 incl. VAT)
Service 9 Accelerated review and provision of an email setting out any required changes to the application or confirming support/refusal of the application within 10 working days of registration.	£278.00 (£333.60 incl. VAT)
Service 10 Accelerated review and provision of an email setting out any required changes to the application or confirming support/refusal of the application within 5 working days of registration.	£329.50 (£395.40 incl. VAT)
Service 11 Accelerated review and provision of an email setting out any required changes to the application or confirming support/refusal of the application within 2 working days of registration.	£437.50 (£525.00 incl. VAT)
Service 12 Accelerated review and provision of an email setting out any required changes to the application or confirming support/refusal of the application within 1 working days of registration.	£659.00 (£790.80 incl. VAT)
Additional and faster services	on request

Office to residential prior notifications

Service 13 a- Registration of valid application within 1 working day of receipt b- Consultation of neighbouring properties within 1 working day c- Provision of an officer's recommendation within 4 weeks of validation	£378.50 (£454.20 incl. VAT)
Service 14 Subject to a prior notification application is approved, provision of letter confirming compliance with relevant legislation.	£81.00 (£97.20 incl. VAT)
Additional and faster services	on request

Larger home extensions prior notifications

Service 15 a- Registration of valid application within 1 working day of receipt b- Consultation of neighbouring properties within 1 working day c- Provision of an officer's recommendation within 5 weeks of validation	£206.00 (£247.20 incl. VAT)
Additional and faster services	on request

Small Minor Applications and Variation of Conditions (1 - 4 residential units / 100m2 - 999m2)

Service 16 a- Registration of valid application within 1 working day of receipt b- Consultation of neighbouring properties within 1 working day	£211.00 (£253.20 incl. VAT)
Service 17 (applicable only if 16 is taken up) a- Review of the information submitted within 5 working days from the validation of the application b- Provision of an email setting out any required changes to the application or confirming support/refusal of the application.	£316.00 (£379.20 incl. VAT)
Service 19 Provision of an officer's recommendation within 5 weeks of validation. In the event that the recommendation is to approve, note that the decision will be delegated if fewer than 5 objections are received and the application is not called in to a planning committee by a Councillor. Whilst the recommendation will be provided within 5 weeks of validation of the applications in any event, the necessary referral of an application to committee will have the effect of delaying the determination of the applications.	£211.00 (£253.20 incl. VAT)
Additional and faster services	on request

Large Minor Applications and Variation of Conditions (5 - 9 residential units / 1000m2 - 1999m2)

Service 20 a- Registration of valid application within 1 working day of receipt b- Consultation of neighbouring properties within 1 working day	£314.00 (£367.80 incl. VAT)
Service 21 (applicable only if 20 is taken up) a- Review of the information submitted within 5 working days from the validation of the application b- Provision of an email setting out any required changes to the application or confirming support/refusal of the application.	£437.40 (£525.00 incl. VAT)
Service 23 Provision of an officer's recommendation within 5 weeks of validation. In the event that the recommendation is to approve, note that the decision will be delegated if fewer than 5 objections are received and the application is not called in to a planning committee by a Councillor. Whilst the recommendation will be provided within 5 weeks of validation of the applications in any event, the necessary referral of an application to committee will have the effect of delaying the determination of the applications.	£314.00 (£376.80 incl. VAT)
Additional and faster services	on request

Major applications

Tailored service. Quote provided on request.

Pre-Application advice Category A, B and C

Category A -  Very Large Scale, Complex Development

• 150 or more residential units
• 4000 m2 or more commercial floor space

Category B -  Very Large Scale, Complex Development

• 100 - 149 residential units
• 4000 m2 of commercial floor space

Category C - Large Scale, Complex Development

• 25 - 99 residential units
• 2000m2 - 3999m2 of commercial floor space

Tailored service. Quote provided on request.

Pre-Application advice Categories D, E and F

Category D - Major Complex Development – standard base fee £3,708.00  (incl. VAT)

• 10 - 24 residential units
• 1000m2 - 1999m2 of commercial floor space
• Development involving a site of 0.5ha and over
• Mixed use developments

Category E - Minor development – standard base fee £2,113.20 (incl. VAT)

• 2-4 new units (where a meeting is sought)
• 5-9 new residential units
• 100-999 m2 of commercial floorspace (including change of use)
• HMOs (100 m2 – 999 m2) (where a meeting is sought)

Category F - Minor development – standard base fee £1,131.00  (incl. VAT)

• 2-4 new units (where no meeting is sought)
• 100-999 m2 of commercial floorspace (including change of use)
• Individual proposals for Telecommunications equipment and masts
• Advertisement application for hoardings
• HMOs (100 m2 – 999 m2) (where no meeting is sought)

Note that for Category F development only (no meeting), the notes will be provided from the date of registration of request. For example, if service 24 is requested, the fast track fee would be £274.50 (calculated at 25% of £1098.00) and would involve provision of notes 10 working days from registration of request. The charges below are payable in addition to the base charges.

Service 24 a- Accelerated offer of meeting at our offices (or on site) within 10 working days b- Provision of meeting notes within 3 working days of meeting	25% of standard base pre-application fee
Service 25 a- Accelerated offer of meeting at our offices (or on site) within 5 working days b- Provision of meeting notes within 3 working days of meeting	50% of standard base pre-application fee
Service 26 a- Accelerated offer of meeting at our offices (or on site) within 2 working days b- Provision of meeting notes within 3 working days of meeting	75% of standard base pre-application fee
Additional and faster services on request	on request

Pre-Application advice Categories G - J

Category G - Creation of one residential unit – standard base fee £374.40 (incl. VAT)

• Creation of 1 additional residential house or flat
• Replacement of an existing residential unit
• Conversion of 1 property into 2 residential units, including demolition and rebuild

Category H - Creation of one residential unit with Heritage issues– standard base fee £1,137.00 (incl. VAT)

• Creation of 1 residential unit in a conservation area / listed building / or with associated complex heritage issues with meeting including Heritage Officer

Category I - Creation of one residential unit with Heritage issues– standard base fee £830.40 (incl. VAT)

• Creation of 1 residential unit in a conservation area / listed building / or with associated complex heritage issues (no meeting included)

Category J - Small Scale development – standard base fee £271.80 (incl. VAT)

• Small extensions / alterations (including advertisements) to commercial or similar premises, below 100m2
• Small changes of use to commercial or similar premises, below 100m2
• Other small scale developments below the threshold of category F
• HMO below 100 m2.

Note that the standard base charges cover the provision of written notes only. A standard site visit or meeting is charged at the standard rate of £285.60 (incl. VAT).

The charges below are payable in addition to the base charges. For example a Category G request to have a site meeting within 10 days of submitting the request and notes within 6 days of the meeting will be attract an overall charge of £806.10 (£363.60 base charge + £285.60 base charge for the meeting + £90.90 fast track charge to guarantee an accelerated meeting date + £66.00 to guarantee the accelerated provision of notes).

Service 27 (not applicable for Category I) Accelerated offer of meeting at our offices (or on site) within 10 working days	25% of standard base pre-application fee
Service 28 (not applicable for Category I) Accelerated offer of meeting at our offices (or on site) within 5 working days	50% of standard base pre-application fee
Service 29 (not applicable for Category I) Accelerated offer of meeting at our offices (or on site) within 2 working days	75% of standard base pre-application fee
Service 30 (not applicable for Category I) Provision of written notes within 6 working days of  meeting	£56.60 (£67.92 incl. VAT)
Service 31 (not applicable for Category I) Provision of written notes within 3 working days of  meeting	£110.00 (£132.00 incl. VAT)
Service 32 (not applicable for Category H) Provision of written notes within 6 working days of  meeting  (when no meeting is sought)	£110.00 (£132.00 incl. VAT)
Service 33 (not applicable for Category H) Provision of written notes within 3 working days of  meeting (when no meeting is sought)	£214.00 (£256.80 incl. VAT)
Additional and faster services on request	on request

Pre-Application advice Categories K and L - Extensions / Development within the curtilage of a house or flat

Note that the standard base charge is £148.20 (incl. VAT) for a Category K and £222.48 (including VAT) for a Category L pre-application requests. This charge covers the provision of written notes only. A standard site visit or meeting is charged at the standard rate of £294.00 (incl. VAT).

The charges below are payable in addition to the base charges. For example a request to have a site meeting within 6 days of submitting the request and notes within 6 days of the meeting will be attract an overall charge of £665.52 (£148.20 base charge + £294.00 base charge for the meeting + £197.40 fast track charge to guarantee an accelerated meeting date + £25.92 to guarantee the accelerated provision of notes)

Service 34  Accelerated offer of meeting at our offices (or on site) within 6 working days	£164.50 (£197.40 incl. VAT)
Service 35  Accelerated offer of meeting at our offices (or on site) within 3 working days	£329.50 (£395.40 incl. VAT)
Service 36  Accelerated offer of meeting at our offices (or on site) within 1 working days	£551.00 (£661.20 incl. VAT)
Service 37 Provision of written notes within 6 working days of  meeting	£21.60  (£25.92 incl. VAT)
Service 38 Provision of written notes within 3 working days of  meeting	£82.40 (£98.88 incl. VAT)
Service 39 Provision of written notes within 1 working days of  meeting	£164.80 (£197.76 incl. VAT)
Service 40 Provision of written notes within 6 working days of  meeting (when no meeting is sought)	£80.80 (£96.96 incl. VAT)
Service 41 Provision of written notes within 3 working days of  meeting (when no meeting is sought)	£161.00 (£193.20 incl. VAT)
Service 42 Provision of written notes within 1 working days of  meeting (when no meeting is sought)	£322.40 (£386.88 incl. VAT)
Additional and faster services on request	on request

Whilst there are few aspects of these extra services that don't concern me, the ones that particularly do are the following

1. Paying to select your own council officer. How on earth can it be in the interests of residents to allow developers to select their own officers to manage their applications. They will clearly select those officers who they feel 'comfortable' with. Residents have no option to select officer who they know will diligently represent them and make sure all of the i's are dotted and the t's crossed.

If this doesn't worry you, all I can say is that you are probably a developer.


2. Major Application - tailored service - price on application. Does this imply that residents interests will be looked after? It says to me that developers interests will be given precedence over residents concerns.

3. Pre Application advice Categories G-J. I have to confess that when I read these, I simply could not believe what I was reading.  There are special services, available at a price, for developers to be assisted with 'issues' around heritage, listing and conservation areas. Can anyone honestly say that this isn't a massive conflict of interest. The council should be completely impartial in these matters and be totally on the side of existing residents. I am horrified that a developer can, for instance, pay
 for the following

Category I - Creation of one residential unit with Heritage issues– standard base fee £830.40 (incl. VAT)
Creation of 1 residential unit in a conservation area / listed building / or with associated complex heritage issues (no meeting included)

Is  there any way a developer would pay this sum if they had the best interests of the local community at heart. It is, quite frankly, appalling.

The horrific truth is that Barnet is up for sale. The administration have created a monster that simply exists to generate money (much of it for private contractors), which seems to have the sole purpose of working against the interests of Council tax paying residents.

Whilst I can't say anything about what was said in the meeting on Monday, I can say this. If you are a Resident in Barnet and you are affected by a planning issue, whilst the developer can get all the help they want by paaying the council the appropriate fee, you will get absolutely no help at all. If you have problems such as Mr Bard had, you might get invited to a meeting over a year after your business is nearly ruined and get a nice cup of tea, but you will get no help at all in dealing with the problems.

There is a huge conflict of interest and no one in the administration gives a stuff for the residents.

Please can you sign this petition, started by Mr Bard to stop the commercial exploitation of the green belt in Mill Hill - http://chng.it/GJ784W5Wx4
Last year, my band, The False Dots made a video highlighting all of the issues which we are facing in Barnet, the way that people are simply ignored, how you are thrown on the scrapheap. We did it in conjunction with the Kick Out Capita campaign. This is something you need to support.



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