Sadly this is the norm for any Council these days, and I certainly don't find Hounslow the worst.Whenever you deal with a planning officer at Richmond their correspondence never provides a direct number for an Officer, they simply don't give them out, so you always have to go through the switchboard number, which although usually answered quickly is designed to make it as difficult as possible for you to actually speak to the planning officer.That is par for the course with many Councils, but it also depends on the individual Officers too - one of the Planning Officers I regularly deal with at Hounslow is always prompt to respond to emails, doesn't hide their direct line number, rings me back when promised, is always helpful and straight with me etc., which all in all makes both of our professional lives much easier. Conversely, one of that person's colleagues seems to rarely if ever respond to phone messages, emails etc. and is basically a nightmare to deal with.
Adam Beamish ● 4563d