Lib Dem councillor for Highgate Bob Hare has called on Haringey Council to review its online planning system after residents complained that it was taking them hours to review planning applications.

The concerns have been raised by residents about the usability of the online service both in public at the last planning committee meeting and to Bob Hare directly.

Cllr Hare investigated these complaints by attempting to access a current planning application that comprises 52 pages, all made available as PDF files online.

During an afternoon it took between 4 and 6 minutes to download each page using a broadband connection. With 52 pages of information, just obtaining all the details for this application could take nearly five hours, let alone read them.

This slow delivery means that even from the west of Cllr Hare’s ward of Highgate, on the most westerly edge of Haringey, it would be quicker to walk to the planning office in Tottenham in the east of the borough, where you would have time to look at the plans, do some shopping, have a coffee and walk back.

Cllr Hare, who is a Lib Dem member of the Council’s Planning Committee said:

“Haringey’s online planning could be really helpful. Unfortunately, it is very slow, which seriously reduces its usability for larger applications. Given that these are the very ones that will be of greatest public interest and concern, and with the greatest number of people wanting to see the details, this is a serious problem.

“Haringey Council’s planning service should be applying pressure on the company providing the present service to speed up the delivery rate of information, as well as considering its longer-term strategy for planning information.”

Notes:

The full details of the application are: rear of 60-88 Cecile Park, HGY/2005/1086. This application is for the demolition of existing garages and the erection of part single, part two storey houses, together with six replacement garages (duplicate of HGY/2005/1084) (amended drawings), application received 16/06/2005.

Bob Hare looked at the details of the application on Tue 27/09/05 at various times during the afternoon at times between 2.30 and 4pm.