1. PRE-APPLICATION DISCUSSIONS WITH PLANNERS
It seems that the pre-application process isn’t really working. We find that, although a
pre-application discussion with planners is meant to be normal procedure, a great
many local authorities will not allow it.
The pre-application process was introduced to expedite planning applications, but it
seems it is now simply another stage, and we often feel that we are wasting our
clients’ time and money by going through this part of the process.
It’s a shame that this idea, probably conceived with the best of intentions, is not
really working. If it continues to take so long, we believe many architects will simply
ignore the pre-application process.