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media release
Scottish Environment LINK and the Association of Scottish
Community Councils
New Coalition asks Parliament to get real on planning
Wednesday 3 August 2005
Scottish Environment Link has joined forces with the Association
of Scottish Community Councils to fire a broadside against the Executive’s
planning white paper.
Together, they have launched a petition to the Parliament calling for
the introduction of a limited third party right of appeal within the planning
system – rather than the feeble promise of more opportunities to
express an opinion offered by the Executive.
The petition also insists that all planning decisions, especially those
related to the proposed National Planning Framework, must be open to challenge
and public inquiry. The two groups will be working throughout the summer
to gather as many signatories as possible before the issue goes back to
Parliament in the autumn.
On launching the petition, Anne McCall, Convener of Scottish Environment
LINK’s planning task force said: “The white paper is a mess.
The new system would allow people to express their view of a planning
proposal – but give no real weight to their opinion. It would still
be the case that the developer had rights of appeal, where objectors would
be left almost powerless. The opportunity to put some fairness and balance
into planning is being thrown away.”
Douglas Murray of the Association of Scottish Community Councils said:
“The ASCC position is simple. Community Councils want stronger powers
for their communities and accountability from both local and national
government. The White Paper does not deliver on either nor does it allow
communities sufficient safeguards on decisions made against their wishes
or even where the Local Authority makes an error. The Scottish Parliament
has the power to make these changes, and this petition gives notice of
our intentions.”
Editors Notes
Contacts:
Anne McCall, Convener of the LINK Planning Task Force on 0131 311 6500
or email: anne.mccall@rspb.org.uk;
or
ASCC Main office: 0131 225 4033; or
ASCC Secretary: 01356 623330
1. Scottish Environment Link comprises 36 member bodies representing over
500,000 members in Scotland. Further information about LINK is available
from www.scotlink.org and further information about the campaign is available
from www.everyonecan.org
2. The Association of Scottish Community councils represents approximately
650 Community Councils across Scotland. Further details are available
on the ASCC website http://www.ascc.org.uk/index.html
3. The white paper “Modernising the Planning System” was published
on the 29 June. During the original consultation on widening the rights
of appeal in the planning process 86% of respondents supported a limited
third party right of appeal.
4. Paper forms of the petition are available from: Scottish Environment
LINK 2 Grosvenor House Shore Road Perth PH2 8BD Tel: (01738) 630804 Fax
(01738) 643290, email: enquiries@scotlink.org
and an electronic version can be signed at http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/view_petition.asp?PetitionID=66
5. The text of the petition reads as follows:
We, the undersigned, call upon the Scottish Parliament
to seek to secure real rights for all in the planning system by ensuring
that the forthcoming Planning Bill will:
- establish real and effective rights for people to have
their views taken into account on planning decisions and conditions,
through the introduction of a limited third party right of appeal in
the planning system, rather than just more opportunities to express
opinions; and
- ensure that all strategic planning decisions taken by
Government at the national level, including the National Planning Framework,
will be open to challenge and public inquiry.
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