Fancy becoming a planning geek?!

Over years of campaigning, we've discovered that not only is it too late to fight developments when the bulldozers arrive, it's also sometimes too late when they apply for planning permission.
Why? Because months, often years, earlier the council has agreed a planning policy which sets in stone what will happen. For example, a policy might mark out a particular area for development, dictate what the housing density should be, maybe even state that a specific site is suitable for a tall building. Once a policy is agreed, it's extremely hard to fight applications that fit it.
So... if you like getting into the nitty-gritty of the policies that will shape Walthamstow over the coming years, check out the council's new online "consultation portal" where you can read draft documents and comment on them. Anyone can register to comment... so please do! (a couple of the consultations end Monday - but there will be others in the near future)
Hmm, sounds a bit boring - why should you?! Well, we can promise you that other interested parties - especially the big developers who are planning tower blocks for Walthamstow - will be all over the website leaving detailed comments. This is one of those times where we need to fight them at their own game.
Don't worry, we'll still be chaining ourselves to bulldozers too ;-)