A friend of mine has just been refused planning permission to build onto his house, and the reason for the refusal is that what he wants to build is 50cm too wide. It's hardly going to make much visual difference, and in fact none of the neighbours objected, but some moron in the local council has decided this is unacceptable. Of course if he was to simply go ahead and build it anyway he would almost certainly be told by someone that it had to be pulled down. I've also recent heard of someone being refused permission to fit widows in his house that were 'not in keeping' with other houses in the area.
How can planning officials and councils be so petty about such relatively trivial issue towards people who are genuinely trying to improve their properties while at the same time they are happy to allow others to let their home get run down and shabby without penalty. Wouldn't it make sense to penalize anyone who allows their property to become run down, or allows their garden to become overgrown, or fills their driveway with scruffy beaten up cars. These people are the real nuisance and can cause no end of annoyance and aggravation to everyone around them and, because they can get away with it, have no motivation to stop doing it.
Wouldn't it make sense to either reward people who keep the general appearance of their homes up to a certain standard a financial benefit, or give those who don't, a financial penalty. Maybe if we had a process of this kind we'd have more neat and tidy neighborhoods, happier communities, and the planners could spend their time making the communities work better rather than simply handing out petty and arbitrary rulings on things that no one is bothered about.
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