With respect to what I would regard as impinging on the planning issues:
We are working to make Scotland a more attractive location for investment. We want to make it easier for international companies to set up here in Scotland and will review and reform investor support to ensure that the system of planning, grants, skills and other support is co-ordinated and simplified for inward investors. We will maintain investment in grants designed to attract inward investment and will establish four new Enterprise Zones. We will explore the creation of one or more Low Carbon Enterprise Zones as a way of attracting new green energy and low carbon companies to set up in Scotland.
- We will take forward a series of new improvements to the planning system. This has been a key priority of the SNP since 2007 and we know that a more efficient and effective planning system will be good for investment and growth. The improvements, set out in detail in the Scottish Government’s Economic Recovery Plan, will speed up planning decisions, avoid unnecessary delays in new development and act as a boost for the construction industry. We will continue to press all public authorities to improve planning performances.
- In particular we will take forward an approach which involves communities at an earlier stage and engages them more effectively in the design of developments. The current pilot projects suggest that this brings benefits for the developments and the communities involved. We also want to see a wider understanding of the planning system, and a recognition of the important role planners have in the creation of more sustainable communities and in the delivery of higher levels of sustainable economic growth.
- Other priorities include helping unlock developments currently stalled due to infrastructure needs, improving the compulsory purchase process, and ensuring cost and efficiency benefits through reform of planning consents.
- We are providing updated online planning advice for renewable energy technologies. This will set out the way SEPA and SNH will interact more proportionately as consultees in developmentplanning and management. We will continue to work over the next five years to ensure Scotland’s planning system encourages sustainable development.
- We have just recently made it easier for owners of public buildings and businesses to generate energy using technologies such as solar panels without requiring planning permission. The initiative will apply for solar thermal panels, solar photo voltaic panels, pipework for ground source heat pumps and water source heat pumps and biomass boilers.
- Our plans include taking forward Tax Increment Finance (TIF). The go-ahead has already been given for the use of this innovative financing mechanism, and it is now successfullyleveraging new private sector investment to support the regeneration of Leith Waterfront and new economic activity in that area. We are working with other cities and other parts ofurban Scotland to identify projects suitable for TIF, for example the Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow, which will deliver tangible improvements to community renewal across the country.
- We will work with the cities to develop a more flexible regulatory framework which empowers them to develop alternative financing models and will also enter discussion with our city councils and others on the granting of a general power of competence to enable our cities to do more to deliver higher levels of sustainable economic growth. And, a part of this we are sympathetic to calls for a move away from short to longerterm funding streams to enable more effective long term planning and support infrastructure investment in particular.
Sadly this observer has not been impressed with what this Government has done so far with respect to helping communities engage with the planning system.
I and many others in our local communities I'm sure would be more than happy to engage with whatever Government comes to power after the next election to ensure that the views of communites are held in higher esteem that they appear to be at the moment.
Nonsense. The SNP has worked hard to increase efficiency, while retaining valuable public input...despite the fact that almost all of the significant changes to the planning system are a result of the last Labour/LibDems Scottish Executive anf NOT the SNP.
ReplyDeleteThe SNP have had to work within a somewhat restricted legislative framework, ill-thought-out at best and totally representative of Labour/LibDems approach to policy, and have done a good job all things considered.
However, planning must remain a strategic business and listening to 'communities' on ever minor issue is unlikely to produce the results we're after. Not least given most "community views" are not representative in slightest of the community as they're peddaled by a small bunch of retired, normally middle-class types who sit on Community Councils.
What we really need is a proper restructuring of Community Councils so that they are truely representative and THEN, and ONLY THEN, give them more power within the planning process; but power that still maintins a nationallay strategic direction. Scotland is too small a country for every community to go off doing their own thing...that'll not get us anywhere!
Most community councils cannot be trusted to act in the public interest and instead represent the limited, often skewed, views of those (often unelected) people siting on their committees.
Of course, "anonymous" could just be a builder or developer hoping to exploit "strategic" SNP thinking in his or her locality - which will presumably have been articulated by councillors who are only to a degree less "unelected" than community councillors, and may even be reflecting the notions of completely unelected planning officials who draw, shall we say, "inspiration" from well heeled and unelected private sector developers such as him or herself. Community Councils may be an irritant in this sort of process, but unfortunately they are rarely anything more. Labour - and it would appear the SNP are trying on their kit - tried to keep the support of big business by smoothing out the planning process in the hope of gratitude, from the likes of Donald Trump downwards. Odd how it turned out to be the strategic incompetence of the banks themselves that frustrated the last few years of the planning cycle, and even odder that the only local bodies capable of thinking for themselves about what might actually be the public interest should be blamed for it. One might even think developers weren't all that keen on democracy and independent thought. How does "anonymous" wear his hair, I wonder?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by proper restructuring of Community Councils, unless they are listened to it would be pointless.
ReplyDeleteMost are elected with a few co-opted individuals. They are generally very representative of their communities.
Community Councils are meant to be Statutory Consultees in the planning process and are given notice of most applications received by the Council.
Unfortunately Councils do not listen to what they say! Following a long trodden path of allowing developers to get away unreasonable plans in many cases, much to the detriment of communities.
There is an urge to develop vast areas without thought to how facilities will be required and where the jobs will come from! They must consider both housing and employment together for any future development.
Inevitably house purchasers are left without the promised so called services, which are always beautifully detailed in original plans and then forgotten about!
Quite frankly being a Community Councillor is a waste of time because of the lack of consideration to their comments.
I am not retired, but I am a Community Councillor. The one I'm on actually has a variety of people on it, from different backgrounds and ages, with youth representatives too, and takes great care to represent the whole community.
ReplyDeleteCommunity Councils can and do make a big difference on a range of issues. However, Community Councils are only as good as the people able and prepared to volunteer their time and energy to work on them.
The Community Councils I know are always keen to hold elections. Where Community Councillors are unelected it is because not enough people stand for election, so without co-option the Council would collapse and the community have no voice at all. Many people do not have the confidence to put themselves forward.
It would help if Community Councils had more powers, and it was easier for more people to be councillors - paid time off for example.
Unfortunately the SNP have simply continued the centralising, anti-local democracy planning policies of their predecessors. Edinburgh decides and local authorities are told to toe the line.
I am no more inclined to vote Labour or Lib Dem (or Conservative for that matter) than SNP. I don't trust any of them to stand up for real local people and the issues that are important to them.
A personal reference has been removed from the anonymous post below
ReplyDeleteRe anonymous said Nonsense the SNP has worked hard, this sounds like – detail removed - although in truth all SNP are a bad as each other, hot air in a closed glass which will ultimately FAIL and shatter taking communities with it.
All C.C are representative of their community and I am sure there are many who will take offense at the tone this particular SNP person is making.
The planning process is skewed towards developers and money as Abersnecky Trump comes to mind and how he and the SNP walked all over everyone. Says it all, none of them can be truted least of all the SNP and certinly not within the Highlands.
You may be aware that the new rules for Ccs in Highland DOUBLES the number of seats in some CCs. Nairn West goes from 5 to 8 Seats and Nairn River I think from 5 to 12.
ReplyDeleteThe only way to make CCs truly representative of their communities is to oblige them to have open elections. The new rules however do the opposite, a balloted election can only be permitted when there are more candidates than seats.
So Nairn West cannot have an election unless there are 9 candidates for 8 seats ( In place of the current 5 ) and Nairn River cannot have an election unless there are 13 candidate for 12 seats. A total of C. 35 candidates will be needed to have a proper balloted election in all 3 Nairn Town wards, DOUBLE that number of candidates ever peviously achieved.
IMHO the very LAST thing HC wants is a truly Elected body of Ccs who can then confront HC head to Head. HC actually WANTS the CCs NOT to be Elected and Representative, so that they can be used to rubber stamp "Consultation Exercises" but can be condemmed as "Unrepresentative" as soon as their response to such consultations runs contra to HCs objectives.
G Vine