27th August 2026

To: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

Subject: Formal Complaint – Urgent: Access to Planning Consultation and Imminent Loss of Right to Object

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to make a formal complaint regarding the way my contact with Stockport Council is currently being managed, and the serious consequences this is having on my ability to participate in a planning consultation.

I wish to submit an objection to a planning application in Stockport. The consultation period closes tomorrow, meaning that I am at immediate risk of losing the opportunity to have my objection considered simply because my contact with the Council is subject to a weekly review process.

I consider this to be an unacceptable situation.

I understand that the Council may have procedures in place governing how and when my contact is reviewed. However, those procedures should not prevent me from exercising my legitimate right to participate in a statutory planning consultation, particularly where there is a clear and imminent deadline.

The issue is especially concerning because this is not a request for preferential treatment or for the Council to disregard its procedures. I am asking for a reasonable and practical means of communicating my objection before the consultation deadline expires.

I therefore request that this matter is treated as urgent and that the Council takes immediate steps to ensure that my objection to the planning application can be submitted and considered.

In particular, I request that:

  1. I am provided with an immediate means of submitting my objection before the consultation deadline tomorrow.
  2. My objection is accepted and recorded against the relevant planning application, notwithstanding any delay arising from the Council’s weekly review of my contact.
  3. If the Council considers that there is a procedural reason why my objection cannot currently be accepted, I am given a clear written explanation of that reason immediately, together with details of an alternative way in which I can exercise my right to participate in the consultation.
  4. The Council ensures that its internal communication or contact-review arrangements do not have the effect of preventing me from making a planning representation within the published consultation period.
  5. This correspondence is formally recorded as a complaint, and I am provided with a complaint reference number and confirmation of who is dealing with the matter.

I would also ask the Council to consider the potential equality and accessibility implications of the situation. Where a person’s circumstances mean that ordinary methods of contacting the Council are not reasonably accessible to them, it is important that alternative arrangements are considered so that they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage when attempting to access Council services or participate in public processes.

This matter is particularly urgent because the planning consultation closes tomorrow. If I am unable to submit my objection because of the Council’s current arrangements for reviewing my contact, I may permanently lose the opportunity to make a representation on this application.

I therefore ask for an urgent response today, or at the very latest before the planning consultation closes tomorrow, confirming how I can submit my objection and ensuring that it will be taken into account.

For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to make clear that I am actively seeking to submit a planning objection within the published consultation period and do not wish any internal Council contact-review process to prevent this.

Please treat this as both a formal complaint and an urgent request for assistance with an imminent statutory consultation deadline.

I look forward to your urgent response.

Yours faithfully,

Sheila Oliver
Editor, The Romiley Gazette