Lochaber councillor slams ‘secret’ planning meetings
A Fort William councillor has claimed possibly hundreds of planning decisions, which could affect the lives of Lochaber residents for years to come, are being taken in ‘secret’.
The allegation from Lochaber Area Committee chairman Councillor Andrew Baxter refers to Highland Council’s temporary suspension of the current Scheme of Delegation for dealing with planning applications during the coronavirus crisis.
The council’s revisions to the Scheme were agreed by the Scottish Government and essentially mean that only the chairman of the relevant committee has to agree or not agree with a planning officer’s recommendation, in order to determine applications.
If at the consultation with the chairman there is no agreement on the officer recommendation, that particular application will be deferred until planning committees restart or further arrangements are put in place.
However, Mr Baxter said that while Aberdeenshire Council managed to have a full council meeting virtually, Highland Council has continued with its planning meetings being held, in effect, in secret with only one councillor present.
‘Highland councillors will be prevented, until the end of June, from scrutinising the dozens, maybe hundreds, of decisions that will affect our lives for years,’ he added.
‘My concerns are that officers and senior councillors are hiding behind emergency powers to effectively end any democratic scrutiny for the time being. There are important and controversial planning applications that are going to be decided behind closed doors, with one councillor present. There is no local knowledge or representation of local views in this process.
‘Until councillors like me started asking questions and kicking up a fuss, we weren’t even going to be told what applications were due to be discussed. Because of my pressure I was able to comment and seek deferral of a number of applications until the planning committee can meet.
‘This goes way beyond the planning process, as decisions that will affect the Highlands for years are being made by a select group. All others councillors are in the dark.
‘If Westminster can conduct Prime Minister’s Questions remotely surely Highland Council can continue with some public scrutiny.’
The council says it has a statutory duty to determine applications and that it is not able to indefinitely hold off determining on these as this would impact on employment, investment and public confidence.