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The public deserve an equal right of appeal

Current planning laws heavily favour the developers, says Clare Symonds

CAMPAIGN group Planning Democracy asked MSPs on Holyrood’s petitions committee recently to consider the case for equal rights of appeal for communities in planning decisions. The need for this petition comes from the strong feeling of injustice among communities in Scotland who have been affected by decisions to grant planning permission.

Under current rules, if a mine, power station or large-scale housing scheme is rejected, the developer can appeal. If the same development is approved, the community has no right to have the decision reviewed.

In other words, the public have no equal right of appeal. Many people affected by controversial planning decisions find it hard to get their heads around this blatant inequality.

“It is incredible that in a democratic society no member of the public, even those most badly affected, can appeal against the grant of a planning permission, no matter how strong the grounds for appeal may be,” commented Bill Frew of Canonbie Residents Association who are opposing plans for unconventional gas in their area.

But what difference would an equal rights of appeal make? At present there is only a very weak link between public input and decision-making. There is little incentive for developers or planning authorities to respond to issues raised by the public as there is no effective mechanism for holding them to account. Equality of appeal rights could provide the necessary incentive to ensure that community views are more assiduously sought and listened to.

In a recent case that goes against many local plan and conservation policies, community councillor in Edinburgh Arne Strid said, after the approval of the much-opposed Craighouse development: “The sheer weight of public opinion and objections expressed only goes to emphasise that there is little point in allowing planning applications to be commented on by residents.”

A right of appeal for communities would ensure, further, that planning authorities and the government would be less tempted to circumvent public scrutiny of decisions in which the decision-maker has a vested interest.

In the case of the Viking Windfarm on Shetland, the Shetland Islands Council was indirectly, through a trust, the co-developer of the scheme. The council’s lack of objection meant there did not have to be a public inquiry despite a substantive objection from Scottish Natural Heritage over concerns about protected birds.

Frank Hay of Sustainable Shetland said: “In the case of Sustainable Shetland over the consent of the Viking Windfarm on Shetland, an appeal process would have been a far better alternative to the continuing expensive court actions.”

Another advantage of an equal right of appeal is that it would encourage the public to engage early on in the planning system, at the local development plan stage. However, there needs to be some element of certainty for people to get involved. As Ann Coleman from Greengairs said: “We did everything ‘by the book’ and yet we are going to be worse off than if we had never engaged with the development plan process. Meanwhile, the developer circumvented the process and their application, that was contrary to the plan, was approved”.

But one of the biggest reasons for creating an equal right of appeal is it would provide an alternative to going to court. This would address the unreasonable costs of the only action currently available to the public – judicial review. An appeal could provide a method whereby the quality and merits of the planning decision can be considered, whereas in a judicial review, currently, the courts will only look at the process which was used.

The public have a key role to play in shaping Scotland’s future and should be given the same chance to do so as developers. Giving communities a right to appeal will help provide a much-needed injection of public confidence in today’s planning system – while rectifying an unjustifiable inequality.

[Clare Symonds is the convener of Planning Democracy – one of Scottish Environment LINK’s 37 member organisations]

Petition can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01534

This article was first published by The Scotsman on 23rd September 2014

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LINK’s Species Champion initiative has been short-listed for the RSPB Scotland Nature of Scotland Awards under the category of ‘Innovation Award’. We’re also delighted to hear that four of our Species Champion MSPs have also been short-listed for Politician of the Year Award: Claire Baker MSP, Claudia Beamish MSP, Mary Scanlon MSP and Willie Rennie MSP. The winners will be announced at the award ceremony at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh on 20th November 2014. Fingers-crossed for everyone!

LINK’s Species Champion initiative which asks MSPs to lend their political support to the protection of Scotland’s threatened wildlife now has 69 MSPs championing 87 unique species.

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Life in our marine protected areas can make a significant recovery if we take genuine action to reverse its decline, says Calum Duncan

There is a mournful Gaelic proverb that can send a shiver down any spine – Cha bhi fios air math an tobair gus an tràigh e – the value of the well is not known until it runs dry. It’s an ancient version of a modern lament: “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”. It rings true for the previously abundant life beneath Scotland’s waves. After millennia of drawing from the well, we may be reaching the limits of our sea’s biological capacity. Fish, sharks, seabirds, seals, whales and dolphins have all suffered major population declines and many species are threatened or endangered. Over recent decades we have made a colossal impact upon what was once an unfathomable and resource-rich marine environment. Our top marine scientists – and Scotland has a fine pedigree here – now report that there is unlikely to be any pristine ecosystem remaining on our continental shelf. That is a worrying feat of human “progress”.

It is a complex problem. Pollution from our cities and farmland runs into the sea, and localised harvesting of the ocean was swiftly replaced by a much more industrial model. We now harvest intensively, largely for the export market, trawling the available seabed for scallops and scampi, and growing salmon in large, submersible cages. (more…)

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Wartime laws must be repealed to protect Scotland’s prestigious assets from agricultural vandalism, says Calum Brown

The ownership and use of Scotland’s natural resources are at the centre of the independence debate. A natural resource that is too often overlooked, however, is the land itself. Internationally famous, central to Scotland’s identity, but relatively empty, Scottish landscapes have immense cultural, environmental and economic value – and a potential that is much greater still.

The Scottish Government faces a number of decisions that hinge on whether land is chiefly regarded as a common resource in which all of Scotland’s people have legitimate interests, or a private resource mainly subject to the interests of large landowners and companies. (more…)

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Every species must exploit its environment to survive and evolve. It has to have food and places to live, using the natural resources around itself. If the resources cannot be sustained, or replaced by alternatives, extinction is the result. This is a fundamental law of biology.

Humans as a species “develop” by following our desire to make things better for ourselves within the biosphere of our planet.

As a species, we possess a well-developed memory, individually and socially. This is one reason for our comparative “success”. We are adaptable. Our extraordinary collective memory has allowed us to find new ways to exploit the resources around us. It has allowed us to become more ubiquitous, and dominant. We have colonised virtually every corner of the planet – and the intensity of our use of resources has grown exponentially. (more…)

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As part of their Higher and Intermediate 2 Art and Design course, pupils from Braes High School Falkirk were asked to choose a species from the LINK Species Champion list as inspiration for their design.  Pupils then went on to research their species and produce patterned shift dress. The project aimed to raise awareness of the Species Champion campaign and to share this knowledge with the wider community through their local newspaper. You can find out more, see the designs and why the pupils choose them using the link below.

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