Getting Insight From A Local Official

[uber]

We have been looking at turning an old warehouse into a business which will bring a lot of people to the area and give much needed jobs to the surrounding area. There are other venues locally which would make more sense financially but this one has history in the area and it would be nice to see it repurposed rather than deteriorate.

As its a bit different I thought it would be smart to reach out to a couple of local councillors to get their opinion on our plans before we start as it would be a real benefit to the community but they both just ignored my emails and never even replied. Anyone had much luck dealing with councillors even just for feedback or is it something we should just avoid

[Truckosaurus]

You might have more luck speaking to the planning department rather than councillors.

[sgrimshaw]

Truckosaurus said:

You might have more luck speaking to a brick wall rather than councillors.

Corrected that for you

[StevieBee]

There's councillors and then there's councillors.

If you're pitching in at county or even district level, the expediency of response will be slow. I believe there exists a chartered requirement for public officials to reply to correspondence with 30 days or thereabouts.

Depending on where you are, and if it fits the locality, you may be better speaking to a Parish or Town Councillor. Although they have little power going up the chain they can be very disruptive when stuff comes back down the chain. Getting them onside early is a good idea and you are likely to get a more fluid chain of communication going with them than pitching higher at the outset.

Beyond that, all councillors run 'surgeries' so find out when they are and where and chivvy up in person.

[overunder12g]

We are going through a similar process at the moment.
Asked if we could meet local planning for a brief exploratory chat. Sure, that will be £3,400 for an initial meet!

Other areas we have looked at started at £1,500

Our solicitor thinks this is normal these days. So much for helping employment in their local area.

[StevieBee]

overunder12g said:

We are going through a similar process at the moment.
Asked if we could meet local planning for a brief exploratory chat. Sure, that will be £3,400 for an initial meet!

Other areas we have looked at started at £1,500

Our solicitor thinks this is normal these days. So much for helping employment in their local area.

Madness, isn't it.

I work in many countries where such an arrangement falls under the category of corruption.

[overunder12g]

Certainly feels that way Stevie. Local council, receiving council tax etc cannot even open a brief discussion without charging a large fee. Reminds me of when we used to do work in Russia.
At least they made it clear that it was "Cash" In PH mode, this seems in line with "Safety cameras"
Remind me, are these people part of so called public service?
Anyway, enough, weekend beckons!

[KevinCamaroSS]

I would also suggest using paper and mail rather than email, far too easy to delete without reading it.

[Vaud]

StevieBee said:

Madness, isn't it.

I work in many countries where such an arrangement falls under the category of corruption.

Corruption is when it goes to the official personally.

[Hoofy]

I know everyone hates Facebook but (and this is why I like Facebook) try a local FB group and ask who to speak to. If it's really going to be a positive thing for the local community, you'll hopefully get someone tag a local councillor who is active on FB.