Published: Thursday, 18th December, 2008 8:25am

Planning laws are flawed

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UNFORTUNATELY, I was unable to attend the second South West Fife area committee meeting to decide on UK Coal"s planning application for an opencast coal site between Oakley and Saline due to long-planned family holiday trip to Australia and New Zealand.

I energetically opposed this application at the committee"s November meeting and was reported in the Press to this effect. I was, therefore, most disappointed to learn that the committee then approved the application at its December meeting.

Nothing I have read of that meeting and the earlier site visit would have changed my intention to vote against the application. My opposition was based on the negligible benefit to the local community, Fife and Scotland for the sizeable upset, cost and other impacts involved. My view remains the same.

I note that my committee colleagues voted by a majority to accept the application, but with many conditions, believing that any rejection would probably be overturned on appeal by UK Coal to the Government reporter, in view of the previous outcome at the Muirdean site near Crossgates. As council officials had recommended the application for approval, this would also have caused the council – ie Fife taxpayers – to have to pay the substantial legal costs of both sides in the appeal.

This is all very understandable in a way but I would still have preferred to reject the application and then fight my corner in the appeal process. The case was strong. However, this all begs the question: what are democratically-elected councillors for if their decisions could be overturned on appeal and at a substantial cost to the taxpayer? This clearly bore heavily in the thinking of my committee colleagues.

The flaw in the planning process are the legal costs to be paid by the council if the appeal is successful. Risk aversion means that we can all take the 'easy way' out without properly considering the merits of a case.

The solution lies not with the council"s procedures but with the rules as laid down by the Scottish Parliament. I would call on all who would wish to change the system (including the right of third parties such as community councils and action groups to appeal decision) to lobby our MSPs for a change in the law.

We all want planning applications to go through relatively swiftly but surely not at the expense of improper decisions motivated by a fear of financial penalties.

Councillor William G Walker, West Fife and Coastal Villages