Forum Topic

Relaxation of planing process

What a crazy government we have. Allowing unregulated extensions to properties will aggravate the beds in sheds fiasco, set neighbours against  neighbours and do nothing to get this country moving again. Putting off decisions about airport expansion until after the next election is cowardly and avoiding taking decisions. Overseas students are still taking jobs from our young people after getting visas claiming they are studying. I don't blame the 'students' just our hopelss government.

Keith Mason ● 4988d17 Comments

I think this is about tapping into the aspirations of home owners as much as it is to boost the economy.After all,we are all middle class now...except the underclass of course.

Keith Iddon ● 4985d

Re  banking meltdown 20 years ago and it has never recovered from it.              xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx much to my surprise, Japan is on the skids apparently, has the largest deficit in the world (so not America! ) and will implode at some stage, so I read recently.

Tony Price ● 4986d

Japan had its banking meltdown 20 years ago and it has never recovered from it.Sometimes the wheel breaks and it's irreparable. Don't rely on the current recession ending some time soon or at all.Cheap energy is coming to a painful end and unless someone cracks the cheap nuclear fusion problem or some cheap energy 'invention' comes out of nowhere - nowhere is exactly where we are heading.

Eric Alan Leach ● 4986d

Susan, look into economics history and it's cyclical. People may learn things but behaviours always stay the same.

Robert Paton ● 4986d

Re  surely everybody can see that?        xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx apparently not, can't remember exactly who ( maybe OECD or  I M F or some other " think tank " ) who said just a few days ago UK must get econony moving  by reducing interest rates to zero if necessary plus more  quantitive easing. Japan had zero interest rates for a long time, in fact you had to pay the Banks to hold your money, which was worth less when you took it out than it was when you put it in.

Tony Price ● 4986d

What makes you think that? They have nannied us in just about every other walk of life.They have even covered up the fags in the supermarket.What patronising nonsense.

Keith Iddon ● 4986d

Maybe the government thinks we can figure this out for ourselves and don't need nanny to scold us.

Susan Kelly ● 4986d

Amongst all these (justified) calls for regulation of the banks I have yet to hear of government asking people to self regulate as regards not taking on too much debt and in being realistic about what they want to own.I wonder if this is because they want us all to spend our way out of debt,which seems to be how we got here in the first place...ho hum.

Keith Iddon ● 4987d

Are you so sure that people have learned nothing in the last four years? Interest rates have only one way to go now; surely everybody can see that?

Susan Kelly ● 4987d

They would be stupid to over stretch themselves with bigger mortgages to fund this unless they could well afford it.But our whole system is built on greed,aspiration and debt is it not?To put it in perspective I think that credit cards should be renamed as debt cards,which is what they are.

Keith Iddon ● 4987d

its a great idea - it'll in theory get people spending.but in reality likely to cause another crash because people will start to remortgage and/or secure funds against property for the next 50k extension to their house....and when interest rates shoot up...bang!

Robert Paton ● 4987d

Ooops sorry,Sarah is on the Brentford site.....age!

Tony Wood ● 4987d

I'm a bit concerned about the water table.If for instance most houses in a street go for and extension there will be an awful lot of rainwater going straight into the drains rather than soaking away into the ground surrounding the house.Wont that be re creating in effect,(for those old enough to remember) the 1976 drought that caused the London clay to dry out (shrink) bringing slippage/subsidence and subsequent cracking of house walls etc? I don't know!Talking about cracked walls,what happened about Sarahs pub wall? I thought it might be an expansion joint,but probably miles away from actuality.

Tony Wood ● 4987d

True about Building Regs but a neighbour has limited power over objections to these when compared to objecting to a planning application.Grant Shapp Chivalrous knight of the venerable Order of Housing Ministers rides in shining armour to the rescue of failed senior Council Officers  champing at the bit about beds in sheds in Southall - juxtaposed a few days later by the Coalition lifting restrictions on extensions.That was another shout at the TV moment.This extraordinary piece of political blunder must have ruffled one Dodos' feathers.

George Knox ● 4988d

but will tey be enforced?? i doubt it

Peter Chadburn ● 4988d

The legislation to apply for Building Regulations approval will still apply, these technical codes and inspections remain unaltered.

Martin C. Harris ● 4988d

completely bonkers!! a charter for dodgy builders

Peter Chadburn ● 4988d