A PROPERTY developer engaged in a planning row with East Riding Council has taken his case to the Government.
Wayne Low claims the planning department at East Riding Council is being obstructive on a number of planning applications.
He says the department often takes more than a month to register the application.
Now, Mr Low has sent a written complaint to senior officers at the council, as well as to East Riding Council leader Stephen Parnaby, Eric Pickles, Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government, and Planning Minister Nick Boles.
He said: "The whole situation is an absolute farce but it's not funny if you think of the aggravation this is causing me and the many thousands of pounds it is costing the taxpayers of Beverley and the East Riding in wasted time.
"I'm afraid this is happening far too often in the East Riding and I'd like to know how a local authority can get things so badly wrong."
The row came to a head over a single building plot in Church Road, Molescroft.
Mr Low claims officers have acted contrary to national planning guidelines that require local authorities to have a presumption in favour of development.
Although there have been no objections from residents or the statutory bodies to the scheme and numerous letters of support, the application has been refused.
Mr Low plans to appeal against the council's decision on the basis that it has acted unreasonably.
He said: "I am trying to develop a single plot on the edge of Beverley, where high-value new homes are in demand. No one has objected to my plan.
"It's a brownfield site in a sustainable location.
"All statutory consultees support my application and yet I'm told East Riding Council does not want development on this site.
"The case officer has told me she has a 'strained workload' but this application has sat on her desk for months.
"I, and my planning consultants, have done everything possible to try to move this forward but the council keeps putting obstacles in the way.
"Every aspect of the application is in line with planning regulations and local and national planning policies."
Mr Low says the council has also refused to register another application for a detached house in St Leonard's Road, Molescroft, a decision he says is against all sensible planning guidelines.
Mr Low's company, Richmond Properties UK Ltd, has applications with East Riding for 70 new homes and says none are being determined within the required time scales.
When asked about the St Leonard's Road application, Peter Ashcroft, East Riding Council's head of planning and development management, said: "It does not take a month to register a planning application with the council.
"In this instance, we have been in detailed discussions with Mr Low to advise him that his application is not a valid way to apply for permission to do what he wishes to do."
Answering the wider criticism of the planning department, Mr Ashcroft said: "The council has a good track record in dealing with planning applications promptly but it does have to follow correct procedures in doing so.
"Such applications cannot, for instance, be determined before the period for neighbour comments has expired, nor are they judged solely on the basis of whether a neighbour objects or not.
"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."
