A COLLEAGUE has just given me a form issued by the planning dept of ELDC.

It is headed Planning Services and the opening sentence reads: "The planning team are committed to offering the most up to date and customer driven approach in providing the service."

Reading between the lines, the planning department appears to be seeking a pat on the back and to encourage you to reply the form comes with a prepaid post envelope.

Apart from clearly not having enough to do – and therefore why not waste more money on a completely useless form?

This form asks a number of deeply personal questions which have absolutely nothing to do with planning.

For example it asks:

a)Your age

b) Are you disabled

c) The nature of disablement

d) Your sexual orientation

e) Your religion (eight choices and then 'other' - but then you are asked to specify other.)

f) Your ethnicity background in some depth

What any of this has to do with a planning application is beyond me.

In view of at least five absolutely outrageous planning disasters there are in Louth alone, my comment would be that clearly you do not have enough to do, what you have done has been an abortion.

In the immortal words of Sir Alan Sugar "YOU'RE FIRED."

Malcolm Bouchier

Park Row, Louth

This isn't a pat on the back

IN response to Mr Bouchier's letter, a spokesman from ELDC said: "This isn't about a 'pat on the back', it's about improving services for residents.

The council is committed to developing services and from time to time we carry out consultation to help us achieve this.

"With regard to the equality and diversity question – respondents are not obliged to complete this part of the form but it does provide the council with valuable information that is used to improve services for particular communities."