No need for additional planning bureaucracy when NP contained within one local authority area
The Campaign for a Scottish Borders National Park has listened to local farmers, foresters, and other land managers who, understandably, do not want to see unnecessary additional bureaucracy regulating planning. For some years now we have stated that this can readily be avoided because the proposed boundary (and even any expansion of that to other parts of the Scottish Borders) would be wholly contained within one local authority area, ie that of the Scottish Borders Council. We believe that the Planning Department of that Council already does an adequate and professional job of dealing with planning applications and so propose that the Scottish Borders National Park Authority should not become a planning authority but rather a statutory consultee on applications within its area, with statutory input to Local Development Plans.
Why the contribution is important
It is important that new National Parks in Scotland are governed as economically as possible.
by malcolmrdickson on May 25, 2022 at 01:53PM
Posted by camusfearna May 26, 2022 at 10:22
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Posted by ricc45 May 26, 2022 at 12:49
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Posted by McNay May 27, 2022 at 14:15
Yes, put Scottish money into supporting the environment, wildlife, mitigating climate change and encouraging responsible access, but why give it away to tourism developers in the name of a “National Park”.
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Posted by JeremyHW May 31, 2022 at 08:27
But on the other hand natural environment of the significance that we are considering in this consultation rarely neatly meets the political / administrative boundaries of regional authorities.
It took me some time to get used to dealing with the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority for architectural planning applications that in everyday reality are felt to be the responsibility instead of the various local authorities, particularly within urban areas within the park.
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Posted by JeremyHW May 31, 2022 at 08:40
I am not sure of the practical side of restoring the Woodbank House (hotel) ruins). Next to that was a bear park.
You can understand why there is great benefit in having such planning applications come under a more specialised planning department such as that of the national park.
I would rather bemoan the excessive development of the large new wing of Cameron House.
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Posted by camusfearna June 01, 2022 at 22:31
There is a reference to the proposed national park authorities having statutory consultation status for planning applications in their own areas but would this be for all planning applications and, if so, would that not undermine the role of the two respective local authorities if they were required to consult the national park authority on all applications? And it would require the national park authorities to employ planners to consider applications and offer views, thus duplicating the cost of development planning arrangements in the Borders and in D&G.
Also, the proposal that a national park authority be a statutory consultee for applications being determined by Borders or D&G Councils would mean that if the relevant Council determined a planning application contrary to the position of the national park authority the Council would (per Scottish Planning Policy) be required to notify Scottish Ministers to give them the option of calling in the application for Ministerial determination. The argument for the new national park authorities in the south of Scotland not to be planning authorities, but to have statutory consultee status, would actually complicate and add a layer of planning bureaucracy and cost rather than simplify arrangements as those campaigning for this idea might hope.
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Posted by DiarmidHearns June 02, 2022 at 14:49
In the case of the proposed National Parks in the Scottish Borders or Dumfries & Galloway, these would have the apparent advantage of sitting inside a single local authority area.
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Posted by camusfearna June 05, 2022 at 10:59
There is no need to match the boundary of a national park to that of a single local authority, indeed local authorities were established for completely different reasons to the criteria for identifying an area as a national park and it would risk diluting the rationale for areas being national parks if they were simply to be identified as a national park that covers a local authority area.
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