PLANNING Q & A's 

Karol Swanson is an Associate Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).  Over the past 8 years she's worked extensively with community groups and planning departments throughout Scotland. She's also a trained community mediator and a Planning for Real® facilitator. She runs her own consultancy which promotes effective engagement between planners, developers and the community through consultation, training and mediation.

 Q1

I have a fantastic view of the castle from my flat. Unfortunately, I heard that there are plans to build more flats across the road from where I live. These will completely block out my view. Surely they can’t do that!

Answer

Unfortunately, no one has a right to a view. I can understand how upsetting this must be for you but just think of the people who must have complained when your flat was built! I would strongly advise that anyone thinking about buying a property should ask about planned developments in the area so that they are not faced with this problem in the future. Contact your local planning department to see if you might still have an opportunity to influence some aspects of the new flats. Perhaps it won’t be as bad as you imagine.

Q2

I’m thinking of extending my property and putting in an extra bedroom and bathroom. My budget is limited and I don’t want to spend more than I have to. Any advice?

Answer

The first thing you should do is to phone your local planning department and see if you can get any pre-application advice. The planners should be able to tell you what you can- and can’t do. This way you’ll get a better idea of what to ask for when you employ someone to draw up plans for you. You’ll be helping the planners too because, with good advice, the application you submit will be much easier to process- and more likely to get a stamp of approval!

Q3

There are plans to put up ‘affordable’ houses in my neighbourhood. Lots of my snooty neighbours are objecting, saying that it will “lower the tone” of the neighbourhood. I really think we need new houses so that more young families move into the area. Is there anything I can do?

Answer

Definitely yes! Most people think that participating in planning is all about objecting to things. If there is a proposal you like, by all means, write to the planning department telling them that you support the development (and get other like-minded people to do the same). Normally what happens in these cases is all the objectors write letters and shout loudest- and they usually end up getting their way. By all means, if you want something for your community, let the planners know.

Q4

I attended a meeting at my temple and heard that our application to build a new house of worship would be considered a ‘bad neighbour development’ by the planning department. I find this offensive and almost racist. How can they say this?

Answer

Don’t take offence. If the development is going to be in a residential area then people might have concerns about noise, extra traffic, etc. It has nothing to do with the house of worship itself. ‘Bad Neighbour Development’ is not the best name to call it, is it? In fact, the Scottish Government realises that it is not the most appropriate term and is considering changing the name to something less contentious. If you have any good suggestions about this, please write to them.

Q5

I am in a community council and, try as we might, we are faced with apathy when it comes to getting people involved in planning issues. The only time they come to us is when they are directly affected by a proposal. What can we do?

Answer

That’s human nature, isn’t it? Maybe you need to try a new tack. Try to engage people before a problem arises. Perhaps you can do a bit of awareness raising at the local gala day or by talking to children at school. A newsletter, a community website or a central bulletin board are all ways of getting messages across.

Q6

My local community council is a ‘clique’ of well-heeled people who live in the conservation area. They certainly don’t speak for the people who live in the flats or newer estates.

Answer

Community councils have a statutory role in planning and their job is to represent the views of their community. If they do not, then they are clearly not doing their job. You should be able to go along to one of their meetings to ask questions. Perhaps you or one of your neighbours should put yourself forward to be a community councillor at the next election. For further information about the role of community councils please contact the Association of Scottish Community Councils. Check out their website at www.ascc.co.uk .

Question 7

I received notification about my neighbours proposed extension and I don’t quite understand what I’m meant to do now.

Answer

You have several options. You could talk to your neighbour to ask them to explain what they are proposing to build, you could ring your planning department to see if they could give you advice, or you could ring Planning Aid for Scotland, a national charity that gives free and independent advice on town and country planning (0845 603 7602) or on line at www.planningaidscotland.org.uk . In any case, check the date for response and make sure you meet the deadlines for response.

Karol Swanson

If you have a question for Karol, contact us