"Planning Democracy"

Planning Democracy is an independent organisation made up of individuals including members of the public, councillors, planners and lawyers many of whom have a great deal of experience of planning issues from the perspective of the public.

Here is a little of what they had to say in response to the Government's proposed statements on 'Community Engagement' in Scottish Planning Policy.

We would ask for the removal of the sentence “Planning authorities and developers should ensure appropriate and proportionate steps are taken to engage with communities” We cannot see the need to state that proportionate steps are taken. This provides an unnecessary get out clause for those seeking to do the minimum required. It does not encourage best practice and adds to the general tone of a lack of conviction about the benefits of public engagement.

Instead an obvious vote of confidence for the public engagement process would be welcomed by our members. We would like to propose that the policy contains statements and language that strive to match the following suggested sentences:

Public engagement done well will lead to more robust decision making, greater confidence and trust in decision making, value for money and in the long term, improved efficiency of the planning process.

The consequences of good quality engagement can be far reaching, having many beneficial effects on our society.

The new reforms and regulations emphasise the need for enhanced community engagement. The minimum standards are outlined in the regulations and are expected to be exceeded.

Authorities and applicants carrying out consultation processes are required to use PAN 81 and the national standards of community engagement as a basis for their engagement processes.

Those carrying out community engagement should recognise the opportunities that a robust and meaningful process can offer to all involved.

Communities have a right to influence and shape the future of their areas.

A developer with a proposal that will affect a community is obliged to start a meaningful dialogue with that community. The dialogue should be ongoing throughout the lifetime of the proposal and should be an open, honest discussion allowing for changes and improvements to be made.

Authorities should seek to treat the requirements for consultation in their development plan process as an opportunity to develop positive and ongoing relationships with those in their area.

The document that these alterations are suggested for (Scottish Planning Policy SPP Consultative draft) can be found at the link below:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/266838/0079875.pdf

(paragraph 35, page 9)

It will be interesting to see just how these views are taken on board in the finished policy document, which will be the one that governs just how things are done.