"Councillors for Hire" - "Is the planning system corrupt?"

Further to that "Councillors for Hire" article in the Telegraph highlighted in 'Planning'; there is an excellent piece on the 'Martin Goodall' blog entitled:

Is the planning system corrupt?

Fortunately in Scotland we do have a 'Public Standards Commissioner'; the web site is here and it well worth a look.  However, as far as I am concerned, despite the existence of the Commissioner and the 'Improvement Service.'** the Planning System and its operation within Local Authorities still falls short. 

Up here in 'the wilds' there has always been the occasional murmur about 'brown envelopes', but all that I have been aware of, as I have poured over document, after document, after document, after document, (you get the idea) is how easy it is for the system to be less than transparent, which of course makes it open to abuse and open to the perception that abuses are  taking place within it, even though nothing may have been specifically identified. 

One thing that Mr Goodall mentions is that,  "The development management system is complex and bureaucratic, but it is not an arcane mystery..."  I would say that in our neck of the woods  the operation of the development planning system (which forms the basis for development management here) has most definitely been 'mysterious'.  One extremely intelligent, and I mean 'top notch' in the brain cells department, co-worker of mine commented, "...I know that the planning system can be difficult to understand, but it should not be this difficult."  Indeed, in my opinion, in Highland, things have been made far more difficult and complex than they should have been.

No matter how much is spouted  by Government about making the planning system more inclusive, with a range of measures purportedly introduced to give local people confidence that their views have been properly considered as part of the decision-making process for  example, there still appears to be a  'default mindset' of exclusion.  

So my impression is that of a less than transparent system; wholly mysterious and operated within a mindset of exclusion.  It would not be unreasonable to comment that this is an atmosphere in which corruption, no matter how 'petty' could flourish.

[**The Improvement Service works with councils and their partners to help improve the efficiency, quality and accountability of local public services in Scotland by providing advice, consultancy and support. Our purpose is to help councils improve the health, quality of life and opportunities of all people in Scotland through community leadership, strong local governance and the delivery of high quality, 

efficient services]