RAGE backing new bill demo

Park of Keir group support protest

Park of Keir greenbelt campaigners Residents Against Greenbelt Erosion (RAGE) backed a demonstration at Holyrood this week regarding the forthcoming Scottish Planning Bill.

The details of the bill, which will be considered by MSPs in the coming months, have still to be made public but it is understood that it will not include the right to appeal planning decisions.

RAGE have been working with the Planning Democracy campaign, which has been calling for an equal right of appeal to be included in the legislation to allow communities the option to challenge controversial planning decisions.

Earlier this year the Scottish Government overturned a Reporter’s decision that the £70m Park of Keir proposal – which would include 12 indoor and outdoor courts, a hotel, golf academy, 19 homes, country park and a Murray tennis museum.

Stirling Council, which had rejected the scheme, is in negotiations with the developer to put together an S75 legal agreement on planning obligations.

Bridge of Allan’s Inga Bullen of RAGE said this week: “We feel that there is something very wrong with a planning system which allows a politician, who is not an expert in planning, to over-rule the agreed local and national policies as well as their own expert.

“It is obviously a political decision, influenced by a PR campaign. The justification of economic benefit and increasing participation in sport simply does not stand up to scrutiny.

“We think the only economic benefit will be to the developer, and we think the weakened conditions imposed by Scottish Ministers, contrary to the Reporter’s recommendation, will allow the developer to build housing and nothing else.

“This is a prime example of a controversial planning decision that should be challenged.”

The Planning Democracy demonstration took place on Wednesday outside the Holyrood parliament building between 11.30am and 12.30pm.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said this week: “Strengthening the involvement of communities in planning has been a key part of the on-going review of planning. We believe that early engagement in producing the development plan, and potentially local place plans, will be far more effective in helping communities shape their places than an adversarial third party right of appeal. We would encourage all communities to get involved as the Planning Bill progresses.”