Planning protest

Members of RAGE (Residents Against Greenbelt Erosion) joined other community groups, at the invitation of Planning Democracy, to demonstrate outside Scottish Parliament last week.

We are calling on MSPs to scrutinise the proposed planning bill with the aim of amending it to make it work for communities. We maintain that it is important for community groups to be able to challenge controversial planning decisions.

We do not trust moves to increase the Scottish Government’s control of local planning decisions.

Park of Keir shows that it is possible to ignore local and national policies by going straight to the top.

The reporter on the local development plan inquiry recently rejected a bid by the developer to have Park of Keir included in the LDP, thereby supporting the opinion of the reporter to the public inquiry.

Scottish ministers have overruled his recommendation along with the decision of Stirling Council. They do not even feel the need to provide any details or evidence, the only reason being given as “in the national interest”. They claim this is due process.

Such centralising and controlling behaviour does not reassure us that the planning system is safe in their hands. With the new bill proposing even more power, the Scottish Government are able to decide that economic benefit is justification enough, leading to developers claiming that the huge profit they make from housing on green belt is the only way to fund some other project such as a new dairy or a sports facility.

Inga Bullen, RAGE