Northampton tennis club boss criticises council's planning process after being refunded for delays

The head coach at a popular tennis club in Northampton has had an apology and a refund from the council over a planning application that has not progressed in nearly a year.

Northampton Lawn Tennis Club head coach Simon Gallo has been refunded around £250, which paid to get pre-planning advice from West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).

The plans are to expand the club's facilities in Weston Favell so new and existing members can enjoy the well-being benefits of playing tennis.

Simon said WNC had not responded to his requests for help between January and November, claiming he was being ignored and likening the experience to being 'slapped in the face'.

The council has said it is 'extremely' sorry to Simon for the inconvenience caused by delays.

On his refund, Simon said: "I have mixed emotions. It's not about the money, it's about driving this and the importance of a community project.

"It's like we're getting dodgy service at a shop, you get a refund and you are happy.

"But with something like this it doesn't feel like it should be run like a business. The council should be run with a bit of emotion, to understand what this type of community project is.

"It feels like it's all based on money - and that shouldn't be the important part. It should be run with that community interest at heart.

"I would much rather they kept the £250 and instead came out to the courts and saw what we are doing here, take some interest, that would have been a better response.

"We have never asked for money, we have asked for planning advice. I appreciate it but it's not what we want. We want advice and help.

"I have never dealt with planning before, it has been frustrating, The whole point of it is it's meant to help, but it didn't at all. It shouldn't be a waste of time."

Simon added that he suspects many other people are in the same boat as himself in regards to frustrations with the planning process.

A council spokesman responded saying the delays were due to workloads and the resources available to deal with them.

The spokesman said: "As explained in various emails to Mr Gallo, we are extremely sorry for the delay in processing his request for pre-application advice.

"This is purely down to workloads and the finite resources available to the council’s planning service.

"Initial comments on the club’s proposals were sent to Mr Gallo on November 23 in which the case officer asks a number of follow-up question.

"Pre-application advice is a commercial service offered by all planning authorities and is not a statutory duty. However, we recognise the level of service in this case falls below our own expectations.

"We apologise for the inconvenience caused by the delays and will refund Mr Gallo his pre-application advice fee.

"Further expert advice can also be obtained from private planning consultants, but if the club cannot afford to pay for this, the Royal Town Planning Institute offers planning advice through a network of volunteers."