BOB!!!

**Moby** · December 21st, 2000, 06:59 PM

From The Sun Thursday December 21 2000

Bob the Builder knows the score. He's slick he's smart and fixes everything.
He's also the unlikeliest Christmas hero for a long time.
The clean living cartoon handyman promises he can mend anything.
Bob has also knocked Eminem off the No 1 spot in the pop charts -
there is nothing Bob cannot do with his catchy motto
"Can we fix it? Yes we can!"
No teeny tot's Christmas stocking will be complete without Bob and his pals,
Lofty the Crane, Muck the Bulldozer, Scoop the Digger, Rolly the steamroller
and Dizzy the cement mixer. Bob's willing little gang can fix anything - yes they can.
The main man is a nine inch high, sturdy little fellow with sensible safety boots and
his gleaming yellow hard hat.
And, no matter how many times he bangs his thumb with the hammer, clean living Bob
never resorts to swear words.
There's no builders' cleavage in sight. Curvy young females can walk past safely knowing
they won't be subjected to torrents of abuse. And, all the while, Bob just smiles an through
all his jobs

Mail Metro Wednesday December 20 2000

While enjoying Bob The Builder's popular and somewhat upbeat Christmas song with the refrain "Can we fix it?" I felt it incumbent on myself to highlight the legislation in place before any said developement can take place, i.e. the Town And Country Planning Act of 1990, as amended by the planning and Compensation Act of 1991. If our young folk are to grow into worldly and knowledgeable adults, surely need to educate them as to the due process before developement can take place and the implications of the said developement. So instead of "Can we fix it?" Yes we can!
our yellow helmeted friend should be knocking on the local authority door and asking politely:
"Can we fix it please?"
Marina Rodriguez, London

Mail Metro Thursday December 21 2000

While Marina Rodriguez's comments about Bob the Builder (Metro, Wed) are well intentioned, they are misleading.
Clearly Bob is a medium sized repair and construction operation, probably using casual employees and owning only a few items of plant. As such, he will be almost exclusively employed on a sub-contract basis, rather than being involved in
self-financed developement projects.
Accordingly, it would be the responsibility of the property owner or main developer to obtain the necessary planning
permission, while Bob's role would be to carry out the works to specification and within the parameters of the approved plans.
Bob's present catchphrase is a statement of professional capability, which does not in any way imply the main contractor is
excused from his statutory responsibilities. Furthermore, 'Can we fix it? Yes we can!, assuming you have assuming you have
obtained the requisite local authority planning approval' wouldn't fit on the side of his van.
Paul Hawkins, West Midlands

Despite having to waste valuable Local Authority Building Control time in esponding to Marina Rodriguez's letter we feel we have to reply. If the work being carried out is repair work, as Bob the Builder is saying it is, then it would simply be like for like.
Consequently, neither planning permission nor Building Regulations Approval would be applicable.
However, whereas building control officers are bound by strict legislation and time limits, planning officers adopt their own interpretation to whatever legislation happens to apply.

P.S It is understood that sandcastles and Wendy houses are exempt - so leave the kids alone.

Nick Tremain, London

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