THE feeling that those in power are unable to think or act strategically or coherently has never been so strong.

It seems bureaucracy is out of control.

My dictionary defines bureaucracy as "government officials esp. regarded as oppressive and inflexible".

It got me thinking about all the seemingly little but highly significant gripes that I have been harbouring.

The plans to complete Derby's inner ring road lay at the heart of the city's ambition for a renaissance of new and exciting development.

Bureaucracy was firing on all cylinders and for once everyone appeared to be facing the same direction.

So, how on earth did they manage to design a road system that squeezes two lanes of high-volume traffic into a single lane, yards from a major intersection, bringing it all to a full stop at nearby traffic lights creating delays and congestion that only rivals the stupidity of the recent bus-lane fiasco.

I am of course referring to the change of traffic flow along Friar Gate.

So, instead of sweeping along St Alkmund's Way and into Ford Street to turn on to the A52 and head west, two busy lanes of traffic are quickly forced into a bottleneck leading to the inevitable block of oncoming traffic – which in turn moves the congestion further away.

Last week, I met a very prosperous company considering Derby for a new base.

Having looked at other possible venues I directed them to our wonderful and charismatic Georgian business quarter only for them to waste almost 15 minutes on St Alkmund's Way while lights changed then changed again as they attempted to turn into Friar Gate.

And it wasn't even rush hour.

They were not impressed and made their feeling clear.

The Georgian quarter will not feature on their target list and it's just possible that neither will Derby.

Also worth a mention is the debacle of the planning system – now a joke gone very sour.

It had already been well and truly messed up by the incompetent thinking of the previous Government.

There was a time when planning was a positive and encouraging discipline.

This was a time when access to planning officers was straightforward and dynamic.

When the system was capable of providing constructive advice without fear of contradiction.

Today, the entire system is mired by tiers of pointless and obstructive officer functions with inevitably conflicting views leading to the endless bureaucratic nonsense.

We are blessed in our city with enthusiastic individuals who have made great efforts to encourage inward investment and put Derby on the international map.

They have ensured that the city's fine features are known throughout Europe and beyond and have proclaimed an open door for companies seeking a UK home.

This only serves to emphasise how desperately disappointing it is that the system has gone mad.

Or are we ever closer to the asylum being run by the inmates?