• AT the same meeting of the planning committee at which Stephen Daldry underwent his baptism of fire (The planning system is a hall of mirrors designed to mislead, July 13), the committee gave permission for a bulky two-storey roof extension next to my Grade II-listed house.

Objectors to the scheme included the statutory consultees (Conservation Area Advisory Committee and The Twentieth Century Society), seven architects, of whom four are prestigious award-winners, and a retired borough director of planning.

All were of the view that the height and bulk of the proposed extension would seriously harm the setting of the adjoining listed building, the conservation area, and long views.

In response the officer’s report misinformed members in relation to national guidance and its sequential test for assessing harm to a heritage asset.

In relation to the issue of height and bulk the committee were told that the extension “is not likely to be prominent in the longer views from Crabtree fields due to dense tree cover” – (year round leaves?). Other views identified by objectors were ignored.

In response to these assertions I submitted seven computer-generated images from different viewpoints illustrating how wrong the officer’s appraisal was and how well founded were the objectors’ concerns.

The officer rubbished the images with nit-picking details suggesting that a different shade of grey rendering would make the extensions disappear.

The report claimed that an element of public benefit would be to bring the existing building back into use. The reality is that the building has already been substantially refurbished to meet health and safety legislation and could be let tomorrow.

This is a typical example of how, when officers have decided to recommend an application for approval, the report, instead of giving a balanced professional appraisal of the project, becomes a partisan advocacy for the application.

The reality is Camden’s planning department is dysfunctional. Members are not in control and the public are treated with disdain.

MAX NEUFELD
Colville Place, W1