Identifying the lack of consultation culprit

Sir, – Correspondent Gina Logan is right to flag up the serious problem of local opinion being ridden over roughshod (Courier Letters, December 1), but she should identify the real culprit.

Decades ago Michael Forsyth issued a Standard Circular regarding planning matters ruling that the presumption would be in favour of the developer.

The circular has never been rescinded thoroughly.

The upshot is that local plans became irrelevant and councils now often pass plans they do not want because they cannot afford the legal bills which would result from their losing an appeal to the Scottish Government.

The coalition at Holyrood followed new Labour (also known as “Tory-Lite”) policies and did nothing; then we saw the craven way the SNP coddled Trump in the early days.

Surely the SNP Government at Holyrood should have learned a lesson from this and given local authorities more genuine powers back.

This would have allowed them to pay heed to community councils, the lack of which Ms Logan bemoans.

The SNP (and their so-called Green fellow travellers) do not care about local people or businesses: they are determined to concrete over our country and increase our population even further beyond what we can sustain – so naturally they will want to keep forcing “development” on communities who do not want it for themselves or for anyone else.

A C Grant. Alturlie, Freuchie.