Is the planning department really so naive?

Sir, – I have never failed to be amazed at the statements given to the public from Perth and Kinross planning department.

Take the following example.

Regarding the proposed large housing development site at Westpark on the outskirts of Blairgowrie, a planning department spokesperson stated, “Transport chiefs are happy with an analysis submitted by developers which shows only a ‘minimal’ increase in traffic”.

Does the planning department take such information by developers at face value? If so, they strike me as being very naive.

Furthermore, they seem to assume the residents of Blairgowrie are gullible enough to be spoon-fed and accept information which supports the planning department decisions.

So, let’s have a look at the detail of the development: 400 houses, a primary school, a supermarket, and offices.

Let us see what the “minimal” increase in traffic consists of.

The average number of vehicles per household in Perthshire is 1.2 (National Records of Scotland 2013). This equates to approximately 480 vehicles for the residents, but that survey is out of date, and by the time this development is completed the number of domestic vehicles would be well in excess of 500.

But we also have visitors to residents, domestic services and trades vehicles, postal and parcel deliveries vans and lorries and council lorries!

Then there are the primary school staff, service vehicles and buses, parents dropping off and collecting children and personnel employed in the proposed (number not known) offices, and supermarket.

The operator of the supermarket would be looking at a substantial number of customer vehicle movements, (say a couple of hundred) per day to make it viable.

If that estimate appears too high, the average number of daily customers to a Morrisons supermarket is more than 2,800.

Now I do not pretend to be an expert in traffic management, but it seems to me all the above is a wee bit more than “minimal”.

Iain Keay. Moyness Park Crescent, Blairgowrie.

Members of the public looking over the plans at the Westpark, Blairgowrie, public consultation exhibition in 2014. A correspondent notes the expected increase in traffic it will bring.