Council took action against developers almost every day
Perth and Kinross Council took up a new planning enforcement action nearly once every day last year, it has been revealed.
A total of 341 cases were taken up throughout 2018/19 relating to issues with developments across the region - the highest figure since 2014/15.
And council officers also closed over 400 cases during the same period.
Kinross-shire had more planning enforcement cases than any other ward.
Seventy-five cases were closed in the ward during 2018/19, making up 18.1 per cent of the total across the whole of the region.
Perth City Centre and Strathtay wards were the next highest with 47 cases and the lowest number of cases was in Perth City North with 12.
A report into enforcement action was discussed at last week’s environment and infrastructure committee meeting.
At the meeting, Lib Dem Kinross-shire councillor Willie Robertson queried why rates were so high for his ward when it made up only nine per cent of the entire Perth and Kinross population.
A council officer pointed out theproportion had actually dropped from 2017/18 when it sat at 20.1 per cent of the total cases in Perth and Kinross.
Kinross-shire independent councillor Michael Barnacle said the ward was under great pressure for development from the Edinburgh housing market.
Questions were posed as to whether this was due to the diligence of Kinrossshire residents while SNP councillor Andrew Parrott asked if it was due to the number of developments with Strathtay’s figures also being relatively high.
Only six per cent of the Perth and Kinross population live in Strathtay yet 11.4 per cent of the cases last year were in this ward.
Conservative councillor Roz McCall, who convenes the planning and development management committee, expressed her disappointment there was “little punishment through the legal system” for planning breaches.
According to a paper presented to councillors, alleged unauthorised development was the biggest reason for enforcement cases.
This was followed by breaches of planning conditions.
Despite the figures, only 32 notices were served, with one developer being reported to the procurator fiscal.
Incidents throughout 2018/19 included the former Sun Shack in Perth being ordered to remove pictures of bikiniclad women from its windows.
The move prompted the business to close the branch with the loss of around six jobs.
Already this year, a breach of planning condition has been issued at the Lathro Farm development in Kinross and at the former site of the Atrium in Perth.