I am calling out Scottish Government overreach in the Local Authority planning process after a new report revealed the number of Local Authority planning decisions overturned at appeal by the Scottish Government.
The figures from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) Annual Review of 2021-22 show that out of 26 appeals lodged after Fife Council decisions, 11 were successful, meaning 42% of Fife Council decisions were overturned when appealed, with Perth and Kinross showing 6 out of 12 appeals lodged were successful, an overturn rate of 50%.
It is completely hypocritical for the Scottish Government to be centralising planning decisions and removing the rights of communities and democratically elected Local Authorities to have their say on decisions taken in their areas while writing papers on what the Scottish Government see as a democratic deficit between the UK and Scottish Government in relation to the discussion around a second independence referendum.
It is essential unwelcome interventions in the planning process are brought to an end.
The annual report released by the DPEA is grim reading for those of us who respect local democracy and believe that communities should have a say in the decisions that impact their local areas.
The SNP talk a good game on the democratic deficit present across the UK but do little to persuade the public that they would act any differently when it comes to the relationship between the Government and Local Authorities.
It is pure hypocrisy to complain on one hand that Scotland is not appropriately represented in the UK and to rob communities across Scotland of that same representation within our own system on the other.
That 42% of appeals were granted against Local Authority decisions in Fife and 50% in Perth and Kinross clearly demonstrates the SNP obsession with centralisation and government overreach.
In 2017, when the Planning bill came before the Scottish Parliament, I fought for amendments for communities to have an equal right of appeal in planning decisions to give residents a say in shaping their areas. “Unsurprisingly, the SNP voted these amendments down while the Tories abstained.
At the time, I said communities were left feeling powerless when decisions were being made – this report stands only to show just how powerless they really are.
It is now clear that Local Authorities are also being robbed of a voice in the planning process. “If the SNP want to resolve democratic deficits, they should set the example by allowing local democracy to flourish and putting an end to these unwelcome interventions.
Planning-and-Environmental-Appeals-Division-DPEA-Annual-Review-2021-22
