Hopes that new national planning rules would help protect the countryside from housing development look to be groundless.
Councillors on West Lothian's Executive this week heard that crucial areas on planning regulation, which currently give no protection against speculative development have not been altered by the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4).
Four years in the making, many councillors in West Lothian had pinned their hopes that the major overhaul of the planning laws would bring simplicity and clarity to regulation, which too often seems to favour the developers and offers no support to councils or communities trying to protect their environments.
Steve Lovell, principal planner, delivered a report on the introduction of NPF4. He told the committee that the document was intended to guide development and set out national planning policies.
Council leader Labour's Lawrence Fitzpatrick asked a series of questions related to the council's recent experience with decisions taken by planning reporters hearing appeals made to the Scottish Government's Division of Planning and Environmental Appeals ( DPEA).
Councillor Fitzpatrick asked: "Many people were concerned about developers coming in applying for designated countryside sites or greenbelt, which were not designated for development in the local development plan. Does NPF 4 protect these sites?
Mr Lovell explained that the position is as it probably always was that developers can apply to build on any sites
Councillor Fitzpatrick asked if councils had rejected development proposals the new framework would stop developers going to appeal .
"The position regarding appeals has not changed," Mr Lovell told the meeting.
Councillor Fitzpatrick asked if promised third party rights of appeal such as by communities or community councils against decisions had changed. Mr Lovell said this had been discussed by the Scottish Parliament right at the start of the debate on NPF4 but had not survived to the implementation of the new framework.
Depute council leader Councillor Kirsteen Sullivan asked if NPF4 would do anything to facilitate greater consistency in decisions made by DPEA reporters given the wildly different interpretations on appeals made across the county regarding development such as housebuilding.
"I think the short answer is no," replied Mr Lovell.
He added: " NPF4 doesn't have much to say on appeals."
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