NHS consultation call after homes decision
SNP councillor Eric Drysdale is calling for NHS Tayside to be routinely consulted on all major housing applications in Perth and Kinross.
Unaware they hadn’t been, at last week’s planning meeting he called for NHS Tayside to “get its act together” and said its lack of response to a major planning application in Scone was “jeopardising the integrity of the planning process.”
Perth and Kinross Council has since apologised for making it look as though NHS Tayside hadn’t bothered to respond when they did not consult with the health board in the first place.
NHS Tayside says it hasn’t been contacted directly about planning applications in Perth and Kinross since the creation of the council’s local development pointed out circumstances had changed due to the closure of Bridge of Earn surgery in his ward and the subsequent dispersal of 3500 patients to other practices in and around Perth.
Cllr Anderson, Cllr Drysdale and four other councillors voted to defer making a decision on the planning application until they had a response from NHS Tayside. They were outvoted by the casting vote of convener Conservative councillor Roz McCall.
A council officer said that going forward for future planning applications, they could look to ask again for a response if circumstances change.
But at no point in the meeting was it made clear that the council had not actually contacted the health board for a response.
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “NHS Tayside was consulted during the development of the local delivery plan for Perth and Kinross in 2014, which includes details about proposed future development in North Scone.
“NHS Tayside was not consulted as part of the planning application approved at the recent Perth and Kinross Council’s planning and development management committee.
“NHS Tayside, in collaboration with Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership, will consider local development plans to inform future primary care premises and infrastructure requirements for the region.”
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said: “There is no statutory requirement for Perth and Kinross Council to consult with NHS Tayside on individual planning applications. As such, no consultation was issued to NHS Tayside in relation to the planning application determined last week at the planning and development committee for the erection of 42 houses in Scone North.
“We apologise if there was any confusion at the committee, which led to an impression that NHS Tayside had not responded to a consultation on this application, as this was not the case.”
Cllr Drysdale told the PA: “I have written to the planning and development management committee convener Roz McCall to seek her assistance in clearing this up. She and other committee members clearly understood, as did I, that NHS Tayside were routinely being consulted regarding all major housing proposals but were not responding.
“It appears that this is not after all the case and, frankly, I want to know why. It is surely a material consideration for the committee to know whether local medical provision is adequate for any proposed population increase.”