How do Planning guys think - uncommon sense

Mudball

Mudball

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How do our planning councils think. Last year the office was planning to build w new building but the planners would only allow about 350 parking spaces for over 500 staff!! Apparently they want people to use public transport. The only issue is that there is no decent public transport nor any easy way from London. Result.. now 100+ cars parked on the road and jostling for space with other offices next door. Looking at next round of expansion the gossip is that we will build in Barcelona.. partly Brexit but partly because it took one year to get some parking space!!
 
Same kind of thinking that says we'll reduce waste by greatly reducing refuse collections, we're not going to speak to supermarkets to reduce food packaging, we're not going to supply compost cones, no we're just going to reduce collections.........erm no, waste is still there but now people have to take it to council recycling centres in their multiple fossil fuel burning vehicles themselves at their own cost, no reduction in council tax to account for council savings on reduced services and increased environmental damage as in addition to all the additional car journeys it also encourages burning and fly tipping....but never mind we've saved a few quid there.
Same time we'll make parking in high streets either not allowed through silly restriuctions or charge extortionate prices so local retail businesses suffer as everyone instead goes to Tesco with free parking. But we'll put busness rates at silly prices too despite customers going elsewhere....hmmmm now all the shops are empty, how'd that happen?

I know councils are generally skint but they dont win hearts and minds with their less than proactive thinking.
 
The lack of realisation about the practicalities of car spaces is staggering. Huge numbers of new houses being build by me, small driveways big enough for one car only, narrow streets. Carnage ensues as 3/4 bedroom houses with 2-3 cars are parking on pavements on both sides of the road meaning the estates look horrible, cars struggle to get through.

We are getting a new hotel built in the centre of our town. 14 bed hotel, 6 car parking spaces. Doh. The list goes on.

I've seen a lot of things passed up here in the last 18 months that make me question the professionalism or plain competence of planners. They surely don't live in the towns where these decisions are being made.
 
Clowns, They're all clowns. Town councils with OAP's sitting on them. Putting things in place that they thought should have been there in the 1960's. We're on the 2000's now idiots!!!!!! Things are massively different!!!!! Millions being spent locally to me re-building our town shopping centre that no one wants. Oh and they're gonna squeeze in a cinema complex that to get to you have to negotiate narrow roads and umpteen traffic lights to get to and from. CLOWNS !
 
Lord Tyrion said:
The lack of realisation about the practicalities of car spaces is staggering. Huge numbers of new houses being build by me, small driveways big enough for one car only, narrow streets. Carnage ensues as 3/4 bedroom houses with 2-3 cars are parking on pavements on both sides of the road meaning the estates look horrible, cars struggle to get through.

We are getting a new hotel built in the centre of our town. 14 bed hotel, 6 car parking spaces. Doh. The list goes on.

I've seen a lot of things passed up here in the last 18 months that make me question the professionalism or plain competence of planners. They surely don't live in the towns where these decisions are being made.
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If I remember correctly you may find that they are working under some sort of Government guidance or Council direction. I used to work with Council engineers and they would be more than happy to agree your points over s pint after work but pointed out that the guidance they had to work to had forced the decision they had made.
 
Blue in Munich said:
If I remember correctly you may find that they are working under some sort of Government guidance or Council direction. I used to work with Council engineers and they would be more than happy to agree your points over s pint after work but pointed out that the guidance they had to work to had forced the decision they had made.
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Sounds about right. Still bonkers.
 
one of my clients is about to start construction on a 35 storey residential tower with 325 apartments. the number of parking spaces is 40! given its location there isn't going to be any room on the roads for the residents to park either
 
Dando said:
one of my clients is about to start construction on a 35 storey residential tower with 325 apartments. the number of parking spaces is 40! given its location there isn't going to be any room on the roads for the residents to park either
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Will they be allotted spaces or will it be a daily fight to claim a space?
 
Probably not the planners but the Councils planning regulations to blame.

I once advised on a new golf course building.
It was an excellent plan, all the right things in place.
Open farmland, services nearby, good access, high population area, excellent ground conditions and no real competitors
The only problem the planners brought up was a badger site. The owners tried everything to circumnavigate the problem.
The badger site was in the worst possible place for the course plan, so the developers had to drop the plans.
 
Our driving test centre had to move recently as the lease expires on the building and the owner wants to knock it all down and start again.
Virtually every site they looked at had great office facilities but, in one case, we're entitled to 1.7 (that's One point Seven!) parking spaces as they were based on the size of the office not how many people would be working there
They finally found a site with the required spaces but in a completely inappropriate place for learner drivers...
Parking seems to be a forgotten thing.
 
Imurg said:
Our driving test centre had to move recently as the lease expires on the building and the owner wants to knock it all down and start again.
Virtually every site they looked at had great office facilities but, in one case, we're entitled to 1.7 (that's One point Seven!) parking spaces as they were based on the size of the office not how many people would be working there
They finally found a site with the required spaces but in a completely inappropriate place for learner drivers...
Parking seems to be a forgotten thing.
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I think our building ran into similar kind of issue. pre-brexit, we wanted to build a 'european campus' here, but planners only looked at the building space, not number of people working here. Try explaining to our US based real estate planning team who would have to turn up for the hearing once in a while. Apparently a suggestion was that we run our own pick up and drop service from the station instead of waiting for local bus. We already have one, but they wanted to increase frequency!! As one of our US guys said, 'the council wants our business but not our cars'.

Similarly there is a new apartment under planning down my road. I think about 4-6 double bed apartment with a grand total of 2 parking space. Those who can afford a double bed apartment in my neck of the woods will have a min of 2 cars and you can see how they will be parking on the road which already has low visibility & mad traffic. So the locals are objecting to the plans. Its all in a limbo with the council saying that they cant meet targets because the locals object too often... Pot calling kettle black ... rant over
 
350 parking spaces was fairly lenient in the first instance. Just wait until a percentage of those need to be Blue Badge spaces and another percentage need to be for Electric Charging Points .....

And, wait until off road Office Parking becomes a taxable benefit .... won't be long before they start that one ;)
 
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When we re-built our clubhouse in the 1990's the planners insisted we had 10 disabled bays.
That area of the car park was continually empty whilst, at peak times, the remaining 250 spaces were packed.
Absolute madness.
After a year I finally got them to reduce it to 5 bays.
Still used to smile at the golfers who parked there and then walked round 18 holes.
 
Doon frae Troon said:
When we re-built our clubhouse in the 1990's the planners insisted we had 10 disabled bays.
That area of the car park was continually empty whilst, at peak times, the remaining 250 spaces were packed.
Absolute madness.
After a year I finally got them to reduce it to 5 bays.
Still used to smile at the golfers who parked there and then walked round 18 holes.
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Genuine question, who checks if you had just reduced it to 5 from 10 without referring back to the council? Would it require someone to pro-actively report you to the council?

I'm intrigued for our club now, built in the 1990's. I will check it next time I am down there. There may be 1, possibly 2 spaces but I don't imagine more than that.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
Sounds about right. Still bonkers.
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Don't dispute that it's both bonkers & wrong, just showing a little sympathy for those at the coal face who take the blame for the stupidity of management.

Had to look at some plans once as regards a Traffic Impact Assessment for a development. Largely flats, not family places, so the location was basically for City workers. It basically said we won't provide parking places so they'll all use public transport. The public transport figures showed that was already full to bursting, but the council wants the investment/taxes, the lack of parking ticks this week's green box, planning permission therefore granted & all the flak at the planners.
 
DCB said:
350 parking spaces was fairly lenient in the first instance. Just wait until a percentage of those need to be Blue Badge spaces and another percentage need to be for Electric Charging Points .....

And, wait until off road Office Parking becomes a taxable benefit .... won't be long before they start that one ;)
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Slight aside but one council I know of has started charging its workers for parking in their own depot.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
Genuine question, who checks if you had just reduced it to 5 from 10 without referring back to the council? Would it require someone to pro-actively report you to the council?

I'm intrigued for our club now, built in the 1990's. I will check it next time I am down there. There may be 1, possibly 2 spaces but I don't imagine more than that.
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Had a wee chuckle over that one.
Our course was owned by the council and two of the planning department were keen members.:lol:

Proper answer I made a plea to the department based on the fact that the number of complaints I was getting from golfers who could not park whilst about 7 or 8 spaces were never used. This was causing the Council to look a bit daft, I even had support from our disabled customers

We obviously had disabled folk using the bar and restaurant and we were also a popular venue destination. This was generally golf off peak times so generally not a problem.

If disabled spaces disappeared overnight I would guarantee the disabled community would be first to report it.
 
Crazyface said:
Clowns, They're all clowns. Town councils with OAP's sitting on them. Putting things in place that they thought should have been there in the 1960's. We're on the 2000's now idiots!!!!!! Things are massively different!!!!! Millions being spent locally to me re-building our town shopping centre that no one wants. Oh and they're gonna squeeze in a cinema complex that to get to you have to negotiate narrow roads and umpteen traffic lights to get to and from. CLOWNS !
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Same in our little town...hundreds of homes and a leisure and retail centre (inc a cinema) to be built slap bang in the middle of a town that has a literally medieval road layout.
 
Seen this problem myself.

Our head office, and main satellite office, both 1970s and 80s buildings, have far less parking than is needed and planning prevents expansion, despite having some space. Ironically we have a waste area used for parking (for about 200 cars I guess) which cannot be tarmac so it is left as a muddy, potholed area, divided up by ropes and sleepers so as not to be deemed "permanent parking".

A few years ago there was talk about relocation to a purpose built office but that was canned as parking would have been reduced further.

In both sites now you need to arrive way before 8:30 to get a space and double parking and dumping vehicles is a real problem. Car share and public transport works for some, but not for those who commute any distance.
 
Wouldn't be so bad if the public transport system (a) worked and (b) was sensibly priced - unfortunately, neither are right. Too many people high up are taking backhanders and kickbacks to push these plans through without a thought of what will happen - I wager none of the decision makers even visits the cities/towns, let alone live in them, so what do they care about the poor sods that live there.
 
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