Not all plain sailing

Shrewsbury-based Shading by Design has a different story to tell than Breeze House when it comes to gaining planning approval.

Director Tony Reynolds reports: "Planning has become more of an issue over the past year and planners and environmental health officers are taking a more bureaucratic stance."

Reynolds reckons the average time taken to receive approval is now running at three months, but Shading by Design has instances where it has taken a year, with numerous amendments, before planners and environmental health officers (EHOs) have consented.

He says the delays have been compounded by a general shift away from awnings and umbrellas to fixed shelters. The size, shape and colour of the shelters are also being more hotly contested by some local authorities.

Reynolds has noted that most councils appear willing to accept shelters measuring 3m by 3m or 3m by 2m, but adds: "Anything 4m square or above is an issue with them. Many planners have no perception of size and automatically turn down the application."

He says that it is getting harder to get planners on site to show the extent of the proposed shelter and even when they are shown photographs of similar size structures, there is a lack of comprehension. Reynolds has some sympathy for planners: "They are so busy on other issues; we can only meet them in extremis to discuss the matter."

He has also noticed EHOs are hardening their attitude. "EHOs are the arbiters on what is an acceptable smoking shelter rather than the planners and, fundamentally, the legislation is aimed at stopping people smoking. The law is sufficiently vague to allow them to impose their own conditions."

He gives an example of one council's EHOs who insist that the roof of any shelter is at least 1.5m distant from any wall or doorway. Reynolds says the other big issue is enclosed courtyards where it's open to interpretation on how close to the walls the roof can be placed.

Another thing that he's noticed is that the crescendo of voices against outside heaters is rising and affecting pubcos' specifications. "We've just had our first tranche of orders from one company that is doing without heaters."

Reynolds says all these conundrums create difficulties and, therefore, licensees should seek expert advice from a reputable company. He adds: "Don't try to out-manoeuvre the planners or you will only make matters worse. Whatever you choose, no matter whether it is a fixed or temporary structure, it must be built in sympathy with the existing building in terms of size, shape and colour. Colour is becoming a big issue because there are some hideously-coloured umbrellas out there."