A DISABLED teenager from Linford has suffered stress-related seizures and has lost several hundred pounds at the hands of East Hampshire District Council, her parents have claimed.

Hayley Prior, 18, suffers from cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair.

The Prior family wanted to build an annexe to their home in Privet Road to help Hayley have more independence.

Hayley has suffered from stress for two months as obtaining planning permission from the EHDC became such an ordeal. The family was finally granted permission for the annexe on Thursday last week.

At the end of the north east planning meeting, Hayley broke down in tears

Her mother, Teresa Prior, said: "Hayley was so upset, she panicked and thought it wasn't going to be passed.

"It has put us under a great deal of stress. Hayley has epilepsy and it caused her to have a lot more seizures than usual, and these are stress-related.

"Since the application was passed, she has not had one. Hayley was averaging one partial seizure a day before this."

In addition to causing Hayley stress, the process has also cost her several thousands of pounds of her personal trust money.

The application was first submitted to planning on August 1. It appeared before the north planning committee on October 20.

Mrs Prior said: "Now we can't build it until the new year because of the weather. It could have been finished by now. In fact, she was looking forward to moving in before Christmas.

"We feel quite let down. It was a complete mismanagement all the way.

"It took a very long time; longer than it should have taken.

"I am just glad it's all over now."

Mrs Prior said the new annexe would house a bedroom for Hayley and there would be another for any friends she had to stay. There would also be a dining room and kitchen area with a lift.

The family are now pushing for a complaint to be made about the planning department.

The item was brought to the attention of Thursday's council meeting at the request of Yvonne Parker-Smith, who was concerned about parking at the site and that the road could be too narrow for parked cars.

Bruce Reay, the planning and design agent for the Priors, said: "We've suffered from the problem of tardiness in performance from the planning department.

"The annexe was approved, but I am still not happy. It should be half built by now.

"It's very bad form. It cost my client a loss at least several hundred pounds.

"The planning department through illness and sick leave didn't get the application signed off, and it sat there for a week.

"The planning officer said it would be made under delegation. It was supposed to be approved, but it kicked around for 10 days. It should have been signed off two- and-a-half weeks ago."

He said that because the application took so long to process, it was two days over the eight-week period in which a decision should have been made.

He pointed out that the item was originally put down for delegation and was signed off by Yvonne Parker Smith.

He said: "I just think that there were a couple of other things in the meeting where councillors were taking somebody's side, which they are not supposed to do.

"I intend to talk to the trustees for my client. Because they have had to pay more money for me to chase this through, I will ask if they want to complain to the planning ombudsman."

The head of the planning development service, Daryl Phillips, said: "We've got to deal with applications properly.

"It's right that it should be done in democratic circumstances and the councillors should be there."

He explained that it is a councillor's right to bring items to committee for discussion as a safeguard to prevent corruption among planning officers.

He said: "It's not a question of taking sides. There was an issue that people needed to think about.

"It was not signed off. We consulted with the highways department, which said it was an annexe and in future might need an extra car parking space."

A condition of planning approval was that the applicant agreed to provide an extra car parking space.

Mrs Parker Smith said: "I thought the fairest thing to do was to take it to committee.

"I was not against the application as I realised it was for someone who was disabled, but I was saying could it not stay within the footprint of the garage?

"I have the democratic right. I'm elected to represent the Linford and the concerns of the residents.

"I said I agreed to the application under delegated powers, but then more and more people rang about concerns. I signed it but it had to be signed by the planning department.

"It wasn't signed off because there was no- one to sign it off. This doesn't normally happen. It was a combination of things and the highways objection that had to be sorted out, as well.

In response to Mr Reay, Mrs Parker-Smith said: "I found the agent's tactics questionable. I try to do what I consider is fair, just and right."

The planning department has recently come under fire following accusations of falsifying figures to meet government targets, putting speed ahead of customer service. Since his appointment, Daryl Phillips has promised to shake up the department in order to deal with applications promptly.