Since my wife's lung transplant we have discovered that respiratory patients, or any vulnerable humans have no automatic protection in UK Planning Law when development is considered. Considering the amount of new homes planned for 2016 alone, many people are going to be affected. This is wrong and needs to change as Bats and other selective animals species are protected. Surely a human's health should also have equal, if not more protection?
So please read more and sign and share the e-petition I have created below. Also remember in any petition, children also count as there is no age requirement. So ask all your family and friends and share wherever you like on social media please as we need to get this to hit the thousands for me to take it to Parliament. You can use the same email address for different people in your household by the way, if some do not have email addresses.
I worked in construction demolition, new build, refurbishment .
The laws change many years ago, and part of the risk assessment is to include , members of the public who may be affected by the works, which includes air and noise pollution.
The difficulty is deciding what is acceptable levels taking into account the work as to progress at a reasonable time scale.
The effort taken in reducing pollution is of a much higher standed than it as ever been.
What is required is more enforcing offices to the currant regulations are adhered to.
The worst one I see is using disc cutter on concrete slabs, without water feed being turned on.
So why does my LPA tell me there is no consideration for the health of a human? We face out house being surrounded and even the Environmental Health officer agrees that measures available will not protect my wife? From a nearby site which we did not think would affect us, we were covered in dust daily and ahe contracted Aspergillis during this period due to being post transplant and immuno compromised. Bizarrely as it is rural here, quite a few projects have been discarded due to protected animal species. Yet there is no equal importance in the consideration process for a human's health. This is what needs to change in my opinion. Not once the proposals are agreed but before the determination of an application, a developer should seek to re locate anyone in a position such as my wife.
I agree stone ....the old stables behind my house were refurbished ,they used stone cutters for weeks on end and the dust was terrible so I had to stay inside. I didn't realise there was a water feed they could have used.
This is what we currently face as the only proposed access passes our front door (which is at the side) on a narrow track and then the housing will border us on two sides. We have tried in vein to strike up some arrangement with the applicants and they have had various letters from my wife's medical team detailing her condition and the possible risk, even if control measures are put in place. They have failed to respond positively on three occasions now and the Planning Officer tells us it is not within her powers to make this a consideration in the process.
hence why I started the campaign as this has been going on for nearly two years now. We cannot even sell as they actually propose changes to our parking situation, but that is a whole other story.
this is what my wife faces should this current phase go ahead. We will have to enter the site to enter/exit our own home. There is large opposition the project anyway and once it was withdrawn. But they have recently re submitted it and seemingly keep getting extra time to overcome issues relating to ecology and Highways, but we have approached the LPA and the applicants on many occasions to resolve our situation before this is determined so we have some idea of our immediate future. No party has shown any positive response though.
You and your wife's situation sounds much worse than mine was....the building and renovation work was at the bottom of my garden. We did appeal to the council, but as Stone says there don't seem to be enough inspectors to check ...I didn't realise that the builders could have avoided so much dust when cutting stone.
Can you access the planning regulations on line at all?
As you say bats and newts are taken into consideration.
Best wishes ...and I hope your MP is as good as ours if you contact him/her.
Yes have spoken to our MP a few times. he shows support but again his hands are tied as since the co alition and moreso since a full Conservative government, the process has been made even simpler for construction projects to get passed. The evidence has been presented that my wife was afffected by an earlier phase nearby and even whilst the land surrounding us is still currently owned by 3 locals who know us and our situation, not one party will sit down and work this out with us.
It is always about the ££££££s!!!
I do not want recognition for my wife's health AFTER they have been given permission. It needs to be a factor BEFORE any determination.
Well i did think that as she is registered disabled too. But we have a rather expensive Lawyer on board already who advises that there is seemingly little or zero chance of using that as a reason to block it. Which is fair as she could have just charged us a fortune to try something but we do have one of the good ones! lol
I also contacted Disability rights organisations last year and none seemed to be able to help. They are mostly geared up for Workplace Discrimination and PIP challenges.
I am glad i found this forum as it is very active compared to others
The simplest way to equate this is as follows. If a protected species is found in the survey, or someone points out that bats (or other) are present before a proposal is started then the developer has to halt and ask for advice from the various authorities. It is also my understanding that (if they are allowed to) then a safe relocation of said species has to be done in the correct manner and under the watch of authorities before any work can commence.
Do you agree that someone with a much reduced lung function and is also immuno compromised should also have a similar protection? Our issues have been highlighted yet whilst there is a duty upon the local authority to consider animals/insects/ecology in the process they have NO DUTY to consider human health. This is a flawed process.
A human's health that is at risk from development should be a material consideration equally, if not above that of ecology and the animal world.
Yes I agree that people also should be protected but I would have thought that they would be under all the risk assessments that have to be done at every stage of building work.
No, unfortunately not! Environmental health can ask (note: only ask) that once permission is granted that some control measures are taken. But the consideration and arrangements for such persons should be part of the process BEFORE permission is granted. Just like it is for ecology and protected species!
Thanks to all of you that have signed and shared this in the last few hours. It has just hit 110 which is a good start. We do need to get some more zeros on the end though.
Please remember there is no lower age limit on signatories to any petition, so all family members can be signed up and you can use the same email address if some people do not have one.
If everyone who signs was to ask another 5 people perhaps then we may get some serious figures quite quickly.
If anyone knows any other useful forums to join also then do please message me.
You can also follow me on twitter for updates. @UKVoiceoverWR
Thanks to all of you that have signed and shared this in the last few hours. It has just hit 110 which is a good start. We do need to get some more zeros on the end though.
Please remember there is no lower age limit on signatories to any petition, so all family members can be signed up and you can use the same email address if some people do not have one.
If everyone who signs was to ask another 5 people perhaps then we may get some serious figures quite quickly.
If anyone knows any other useful forums to join also then do please message me.
You can also follow me on twitter for updates. @UKVoiceoverWR
Wayne, it does seem wrong that the dangers of building work are not properly respected. But there's no way I could support a campaign which denigrates the protection of wildlife and the environment, so much of which is on the edge of survival as a direct consequence of human activity. Those few little protections which they have should be treasured and held up as an example, not mocked. I would be ashamed to support a campaign which sees the protection of humans and of the environment as being in competition. Those who are working for the vulnerable of all kinds should be able to support each other against the interests of big business, because that's what you're up against, not the bats.
I think you misunderstand the content. It does not denigrate the afforded wildlife protections but questions why they are not offered in equal measure to vulnerable human beings. One human life at risk is also one person at the edge of extinction!
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