Council chiefs have been warned that they must overhaul their planning department or face irreparable damage to communities and oversee the ravaging of some of Scotland’s most valuable landscapes.
A number of controversial plans have been brought before elected members in Perth and Kinross in recent months, each recommended for approval by planners.
They included an expansion of the hugely controversial Calliacher windfarm and a major housing development that would have resulted in the demolition of the former Kinross High School building.
Each scheme was rejected by councillors but courted controversy among residents, amid allegations that local democracy was being short-changed.
The council’s development quality manager Nick Brian has been staunch in his defence of the reports produced by his department, and development management committee convener councillor Tom Gray felt moved to defend its workings in the wake of claims the public did not have enough of a voice.
There have, however, been concerns raised that planning officers are bringing “inaccurate” and “inadequate” reports to council and are failing to adequately reflect the concerns of local communities.
Widespread opposition, sometimes represented by hundreds of individual objections, can be summed-up in a couple of paragraphs and some fear the weight of their words can be all too easily overlooked.
The John Muir Trust, one of Scotland’s leading environment agencies, is among those pressing for change, with the trust’s head of policy, Helen McDade, calling for a greater voice for communities.
“I think council planning officers including those at Perth and Kinross Council need to look at the reports they take forward to council,” she said.
“It is a serious concern that if communities did not have a vocal community council and their local councillors to speak for them then their views could be overlooked.”
Regarding Calliacher, she added: “Likewise, when planning issues drag on and on as this has for almost 10 years then communities can get fatigued and tired out and their opposition can waver and go silent. That is not democracy, it is a travesty.”
The quality of planning reports has long been an issue that has vexed Kinross-shire Councillor Mike Barnacle. He said: “In October 2013 I resigned from Perth and Kinross Council’s scrutiny committee because of its refusal to scrutinise the quality of planning reports, which I thought was badly needed.
“I have seen no improvement in this aspect of council operations at development management level and there are several occasions at planning committees that both community representatives and elected members point out inaccuracies, omissions and misrepresentations in reports being presented to members for decision.”
He cited the Gypsy/Traveller site at Crook Moss, the plans to demolish Kinross High School and replace it with 102 houses and a two-home plan at Keltybridge as examples of three inadequate council reports.
“The quality of planning reports are as important, if not more so, than the speed of decision-making,” he said.
“There should be opportunities for community councils and local members to discuss issues around contentious applications before a report recommendation is made.”