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[ljn]

On the Planning Portal & Thanet Concil website, there seem to be many words and pages about public consultation, It seems as if every opportunity to provide useful links has been missed. All the pages seem to be virtual dead ends.
Or am I an incompetent web user?

On recently joining my local Conservation Area Committee Group, I wanted to view and comment on a planning application in my area.
Armed with the application number, I went online.


FIRST ATTEMPT:
The Planning portal seemed to be an obvious place to look. http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/
Banners announce the site as being "The Complete online planning and building resource" and "your one-stop-shop for planning and building services online"
It looks like I'm in the right place!
I select the "General Public" area of the site. And then "Planning" and finally, "Having your Say" http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en/1018892037723.html
Sounds good, but on the page, there is no mention of the public being able to view or comment on applications online. No links. It's a dead end.

I go back to the homepage http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/
On the right there are is a list of "Common Questions", each is an active link. One of the questions/links is: "I want to comment about a development near me"
Great! Looks like Im getting there!
The link takes me to the "Having Your Say" page: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en/1103046453430.html
Haven't I been here before? No! This is a different "Having Your Say page" page, So this time I could be in luck....
On this page threre is a paragraph on "Finding out about developments", another on "Making your views known". Many words about consultation and the public having their say on applications, however, iI failed have my say. There are no active links. It is a dead end.
The only active link is to the Local Government Ombudsman

So on the Planning portal - "The Complete online planning and building resource" There is no clear link search and comment on an applications.

As a last attempt I tried entering "Search planning applications" in the search box, I get an "enter registration and password" page.



SECOND ATTEMPT

I try using the local council website
http://www.thanet.gov.uk/
I click on "Environment and planning", then "Planning"

On the page "Planning Applications" http://www.thanet.gov.uk/environment__planning/planning/planning_applications.aspx there is a section titled "Application Search". Great! It says I can, among other things, "view individual planning applications" and "submit comments",
which is exactly what I wanted to do.

Actually, it's not great at all!
Its another dead end. Just words, no function and no link .

The page states: "The Council also works in partnership with UKPlanning.com and UKPlanning.com is a link, so I follow that:

which takes me to http://www.ukplanning.com/ukp/custom/forwards/selectandsearch.jsp?council=Thanet%20District%20Council&fwd=search/

Apache Tomcat/4.0.6 - HTTP Status 500 - Internal Server Error


THIRD ATTEMPT

I go directly to: http://www.ukplanning.com/
In the heading it states: "View, apply, track applications online now - Test Drive Now"

Great! Well not great here either. The page is empty, the menus don't work.


FOURTH ATTEMPT
I try the next day, same result.

FIFTH ATTEMPT
Later today, the UK planning site was working again and I was able to download and comment on the plans.

I realize that the sites can sometimes not work, or that I may have missed something, but I have used the internet for over 15 years and at one stage ran a business designing websites.I don't understand why links to not clearly provided on ALL the planning pages of the council website and on the Planning Portal where they talk of "viewing and Commenting on applications". As it is, it would seem that viewing and commenting on applications not encouraged.

 

[skier-hughes]

Are you using Apache as your web browser?

I wonder if the sites are not that compatible with it?

Have you tried from IE?

 

[MdB]

Are you using Apache as your web browser?

I wonder if the sites are not that compatible with it?

Have you tried from IE?

Apache is a web server not a web browser. You are probably thinking of firefox, opera, safari or chrome (if you are really ahead of the curve).

Any how, anybody that designs a website a website just for use with IE should be sacked as otherwise they are locking out nearly a third of their users.

 

[ljn]

Yes, Apache is the server side software. The ukplnning site was down/broken.
It was just a coincidence and I understand that things can go wrong.

What I fail to understand is why websites that talk so much about public participation and about the process like the Local Authorities and the Planning Portal Provide no tools and no links for people to take part in the conversation about planning.

When I lived in Hackney, London, on the planning hompage there was a link to "search for planning permissions" . Right there on the page.
Then the link disappeared when the function passed to UK planning.

So what was easy to find became hard to find. Progress?

 

[Penners]

You need to understand what politicians of all kinds mean when they talk about "consulting the public", "stimulating a national debate" or "letting the public have their say".

These empty phrases mean one of two things:

1. We have no intention of doing anything about this, but in order to deflect any criticism of inaction, we'll say that we're seeking the views of the public about it. We hope that, if we can string this excuse out for long enough, people will forget about the matter.

OR

2. We've already decided what we're going to do about this, but in order to deflect a charge of failing to observe the democratic process, we'll say that we're seeking the views of the public about it. Then, after a suitable interval, we'll announce our original decision, hoping that people will believe it represents the majority public view.

 

[Flyfisher]

What shocking cynicism. I thought it was just me.

 

[Penners]

You're right of course.

Can't imagine how I got like that.

 

[ljn]

I think I understand what politicians mean when they say they want "participation", but prefer to call their bluff rather than call them names.

Adam curtis captured the situation very well in his "The Trap - What Happened to our Dream of Freedom" documentary for the BBC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAluyt5_kic

But it is also true that the system is based on a the fact that people mind their own business.
It is a delicate system. It even a small number of people complain, it can become embarrassing and changes have to be made.

I have written to the relevant authorities and will take it further if there is no response.