Planning
One of the biggest issues to emerge in the Borders is criticism of current planning procedures. Some communities have felt their voice is being lost because Scottish Borders Council officials do not do enough to highlight major schemes and the impact they may have.
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Scottish Borders Council is a statutory consultee for major development schemes, known as Section 36 applications.
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SBC does not run its own public consultation exercise on such applications. A number of community groups, businesses and individuals feel this fails local democracy and have highlighted their concerns in the national press. (link to Scotsman article pdf).
A petition was presented to SBC’s Scrutiny and Petitions Committee on March 21, 2024 urging a review of procedures and this was given a sympathetic hearing by councillors who voted to refer to the matter to the planning director with several recommendations. (link to hearing)
The petitioners wanted Scottish Borders Council to adopt the same approach as other local authorities which report to their planning committees responses from community councils formally consulted by the ECU as well as those from residents affected. This would help councillors form a view based on best evidence.
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ENERGY CONSENTS UNIT
Send your email / letter to representations@gov.scot