Observer comment: the perils and pitfalls of red tape

Firstly, Sidley dad Gary Canham was quite understandably pulling his hair out trying to get an infestation of brown tail moth caterpillars near his house cleared after his six-year-old daughter came home with an allergic reaction after playing with one of them - as children do.

The infested bush was on land owned by East Sussex County Council, yet Rother District Council is usually responsible for environmental health, which can include pest control.

Thankfully Rother has picked up the reins: however shouldn’t there be an established process already in place for pest control on public land, no matter which local authority owns it?

This somewhat muddled relationship between county and district is reflected in the long-running saga of dropped kerbs on the new seafront to allow disabled access. A solution is in the pipeline we understand, but the situation has continued for a year now.

Then there was Rother’s initial refusal to make a public photo opportunity of Bexhill’s anglers handing over a 2,000 petition against proposed byelaws on Bexhill’s beach.

For an authority which has taken much criticism for not listening to local people, this should have been a golden opportunity for the council to be seen to be doing the right thing.

Again Rother has thought again, and we look forward to photographing the handover.

On the same sort of note but with a completely different organisation, we see a six-year delay from the Nursing Midwifery Council in scheduling a disciplinary hearing for Bexhill nurse Patrick Wilson-Canning.

While we cannot comment or speculate as to the outcome, the fact remains that nobody should have to wait that long to hear if they are found guilty or cleared of the charges levelled against them.

Red tape is an endless source of frustration for many, whatever problem they are trying to solve and whichever organisation they are dealing with.

And it must cost a fortune.