A former Dundee councillor has questioned the legal training provided to current members as it’s revealed the council paid £12,000 in compensation to a multinational.
The local authority had to cover costs incurred by Canadian giant Tim Hortons after delaying the opening of the company’s city drive-thru.
The expenses ruling came after a Scottish Government reporter concluded the council’s planning committee lacked “reasonable grounds” when it rejected the development at New Craigie Retail Park.
The amount the council must pay was revealed in a Freedom of Information request after its press office previously declined to divulge the sum.
Former city SNP councillor Allan Petrie says current members of the planning committee are not adequately trained and don’t understand the law.
Mr Petrie says the council is at fault for not equipping members of the planning committee with essential knowledge.
‘Lack of training is unbelievable’
He said: “Councillors are in a position where, it’s a quasi-judicial committee, the planning committee. Which means you can’t take a decision before an application is heard at the full committee.
“And it can’t be a political decision, because it’s quasi-judicial. And they don’t understand this at all.
“The lack of training for these councillors is unbelievable and the lack of knowledge that they have of the law is just really unbelievable.
“They don’t understand that it’s a legal committee.”
‘Specific training on planning’
Asked to respond to Mr Petrie’s comments, a Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “Training is provided for elected members on an ongoing basis and covers a number of topics delivered through briefings, seminars and online resources.
“There is also specific training and updates on dealing with planning applications.”
Decision overturned
The government’s planning appeals division found that the committee failed to understand the council’s own framework, despite “clear advice” from its own head of planning and development.
This is because the committee had already approved a coffee shop and drive-thru at the same site in 2017. It meant the council could not legally refuse a similar plan unless it cited fresh reasons.
A majority of councillors had voted to reject the drive-thru due to traffic concerns but Tim Hortons eventually successfully appealed the decision.
It is due to open in the next few months.
‘Not supported by evidence’
In her findings, Trudi Cragg, the government reporter, explained what was missing from the council’s paperwork.
She said: “Although I consider that the council gave a complete and precise reason for refusal, in my view that reason was unreasonable given the planning permission in principle which had previously been granted.
“Further, the reason for refusal is not supported by the evidence before the council.”
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