Fife’s planning convenors have come together to back calls for under pressure GP services to be protected amid scores of new housing applications.
Along with depute leader and planning spokeswoman Lesley Laird, the chairs of the kingdom’s three planning committees all agree putting health services at the heart of any major development is common sense.
They are backing Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley in championing a greater say for communities in local planning issues and the detrimental impact they may have on vital services.
The ambitious move comes only weeks after the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland issued a heartfelt plea to planners to consider GPs who are already “struggling to survive” with the volume of patients they currently have.
Chairman Dr Miles Mack said until the planning system took responsibility for the impact of decision on GP services, patients faced uncertainty with the chance of practices “simply buckling under added pressures”.
Only weeks ago health secretary Shona Robison was forced to deny there was a GP crisis after leading medics claimed one was manifest.
Mr Rowley is urging Scottish Ministers to give communities powers to ensure that any large planning developments must ensure there is a proper provision of public services.
He has asked Cabinet Secretary Angela Constance to provide detail of how she intends to ensure communities have a greater involvement as part of the Scottish Government’s planning review.
“The government has said it wants to see a wider role of community planning within the planning process but if this is to be more than warm words – they need to provide detail of how this will work in practise.
“So in the case of GP services where they are already massive pressures to meet the existing service demands, it would be crucial to establish what the additional pressures will be and who will be responsible for meeting those pressures both in terms of physical buildings like health centres and also the additional need for staff like doctors and nurses.
“This kind of service planning is clearly needed and local people would be empowered to lead the community planning process of any development applications.”
In response local government and housing minister Kevin Stewart said the Government was commissioning research into barriers preventing engagement with the planning system and ensuring communities were represented on working groups to examine the review panel’s recommendations, including those on community engagement.
Earlier this year the panel identified 10 immediate actions and now the Scottish Government is working with local authorities, developers and community groups to develop more detail proposals for reform.
After consultation, this will pave the way for a new planning bill being brought forward in 2017 which will “deliver more community engagement to ensure that more people can get actively involved in shaping the future of the places where they live and new a better tools to assist housing delivery”.