If it turns out that you never get a reply to your email Katex then that is inexcusable and terribly bad manners. As you say, emails should always be replied to even if just to let the person know that you're looking into the matter for them.
Don't abandon hope yet though. Just a thought.... I have just remembered once being told that the council has a break for the summer holiday so if this is the case then your email possibly may not have been picked up yet. Hopefully you will receive a reply when normal service is resumed in September. If not, then I agree with you, there's no excuse for it.
