City hall Quote by Paul Cornell
““Big construction companies, making millions on underground developments such as this, had initially gone to the bother of bringing in cranes to lift mechanical diggers, once their work was done, out of their excavations. Then they’d realized that the cost-benefit analysis actually tipped in the direction of just finding somewhere to hide the digger and leaving it entombed in a wall, the company sometimes going just a little bit beyond the planning permission they’d been given for the few days it took to do so. Ballard had slipped someone at City Hall some cash to get a look at the plans and realized that, yes, the only place the digger could have been entombed was right up against the bank. Its””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Darkening Sky, 2015
Companies sometimes hide costly equipment in structures to avoid detection, exploiting loopholes in planning permission.
In simple terms: They bury machinery to cut costs.
Key Takeaway
Beware of shortcuts that violate regulations.
Themes
corruption
urban planning
ethics
Mood
cautious
critical
Type
analysis
warning
When to use this quote
- construction projects
- municipal permits
- budget overruns
Key Concepts
regulatory evasion
cost‑saving tactics
illegal concealment
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do firms risk illegal concealment?
- What safeguards could prevent this?
A Different Perspective
Such actions can lead to safety hazards and legal repercussions.
![“I don't think [Russell T Davies] sits up at night worrying about canonicity, except for the times when I'm pretty sure he does.” quote by Paul Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9d2/paul-cornell-19016_doe_i-don-t-think-russell-t-davies-sits-up-a_1073963.jpg)
