I have copied this email to local newspapers. I sincerely hope they take up this issue and dialogue in respect of the frustrations currently being felt by our community. The main concern that I wish to raise with Horsham District Council is that we are seeing an increasing number of spurious and speculative planning applications on your website, which, in my and others’ opinions, do not even merit validation for publication on the council’s website in the first place. I ask, ‘What criteria does HDC require for a planning application to be validated and published for public comment?’ (Whether that be ‘supportive comment or ‘objection’ comment). For example, one application includes a ‘site plan’ which appears to have been drawn by a six year old child using blunt crayons and bears no resemblance to a professional site plan that might have been submitted with detailed scale measurements or accurate supporting surveys or traffic flow assessments. By ‘validating’ and publishing these inferior applications, Horsham District Council gives credence to them. This means that we objectors have to spend hours and hours monitoring and opposing what is obvious from the onset, the fact that these applications are ‘Aunt Sally’s’ thrown into the ring, trying to creep in through the back door unnoticed by the general public! Apart from our time, Horsham District Council is also having to spend thousands of ‘man hours’ and thousands of pounds of our ratepayers’ money, to be seen to be politically correct, and therefore give lip-service publication to planning applications that have absolutely no merit, validity or benefit to the community. Come on HDC - take control of your planning process please... The speculators are running rings round you by submitting ‘retrospective applications’, ‘minor amendment applications’, ‘merit less appeals’ against ‘refused’ applications and every other trick in the book that is designed to muddy the waters. John Bromley Park Lane, Maplehurst