What has gone wrong?

AFTER reading over the past few months all about the new sea defences Weston seafront will be having, what on earth has gone wrong?I really cannot believe what I have read in the press.Is it true that not one of these very highly paid council officers or officials we pay for read the small print on this application for funding from DEFRA?I cannot blame Cllr John Crockford-Hawley even if it was his project, he has to put his trust in someone, unfortunately he did stick his neck out when he told the press the fact the council had not yet given the scheme planning permission is a technicality.Can we just wait a minute on that? The fact of the matter is we did not get the grant because it did not have planning consent and have now been told DEFRA's funding for 2006/2007 is all used up.Why? Because nobody at our end had done their job. I cannot believe nobody checked what the conditions of the grant were. It was only two, as I see it, designs prepared and planning permission obtained.Why didn't someone keep an eye on this bit? We did spend after all £175,000 on drawing up detailed designs for the scheme, why couldn't one of these highly paid officers at least think about getting outline planning applied for and ensure we at least had some planning records.So it's back to the drawing board till 2008. By then maybe we will have someone who can see it through, also perhaps we will have a rethink on the new proposed pretty colours which the council wants to use on the seafront to go with the new street lighting.LAURENCE F ORMEShrubbery Avenue, Weston