• WHO can be surprised at the recent antics of the O2 Centre developer?

It seems to be standard practice for developers first to obtain planning permission and then to try to change the agreed plans and conditions.

It isn’t just a matter of greatly increasing the development, as in the case of the O2 Centre plans but also more often involves reducing or abandoning the number of affordable housing within a development.

For some reason developers seem to have planners over a barrel and know that councils will just give in.

Why is it that developers cannot be informed that they can go ahead with the application as approved and without further adjustments of any kind?

They take councils for manipulable idiots.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED, NW1