Mount Oswald - Banks appeal before the decision is taken
The Northern Echo today revealed that Banks are already trying to go over the head of the Council by appealing to the Secretary of State against the time taken to deal with their planning application.
OK, there is a guideline period and it looks like the council will be a couple of weeks over the limit, but given the complexity of the application, the extraordinary number of formal objections (over 130) and the fact that Banks seems to have been unwilling to engage with the council officers in discussing these objections, not to mention that the Christmas holiday period it is not surprising that the process has overrun the guideline marginally.
Frankly, to me this looks like Banks are clutching at straws. I sincerely hope that the Secretary of State sees that it is more important to take the right decision than to take a quick decision, especially for such a major and controversial application.
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