During a meeting of the Planning & Regulatory Services Committee on 8th October 2019, Members voted 5 to 3 with 2 Abstentions in favour of refusing planning permission for application 18/01142/app, an application by Springfield Properties Plc for a residential development and associated infrastructure at the R3 Ferrylea and Long 3 sites in Forres.
The motion for refusal was proposed by Councillor Amy Taylor (SNP – Heldon & Laich) and seconded by Councillor Marc Macrae (Conservative – Fochabers-Lhanbryde) and was backed by members from all groups in the council.
Following the announcement from the Reporter appointed by Scottish Ministers of his decision to allow the appeal and grant planning permission subject to a number of conditions and following the signing/registering or recording of a planning obligation under section 75 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, Councillor Macrae commented –
“I am once again disappointed that a majority decision of Councillors, elected to represent not just their own wards but the interests of Moray as a whole, has been overturned by a Scottish Government Reporter.
“Councillors receive a wealth of information from officers as well as attending site visits and of course their own knowledge of the area combined with that of public representation before making an informed judgement on any application that comes before them.
“It is right that any large application comes before the committee for deliberation, with judgements being made on the facts presented before them.
“To that end I was content to second Councillor Taylor when she proposed the refusal based on the application failing to comply with policies H1 (Housing Land) and IMP1 (Developer Requirements) of the Moray Local Development Plan 2015, policies of the Moray Council, with particular regard to the Masterplan which had been issued for this site. The site was originally identified as having capacity for 380 units, the proposal would bring the number on site to 575, and we felt that the additional 195 houses were an unacceptable change in the terms of density and consequently landscaping provision.
“It is only a few months since the Scottish Government commended the work of the Moray Council and gave a Quality Audit award to our Planning Team for the work they do.
“Councillors made a democratic decision to refuse permission and whilst it is correct that an appeals process exists it is disappointing when we are ran roughshod over by external forces, bringing into question the actual need for elected members on such a committee.
“Time and time again across the Northeast we see local authorities listening to the public, heeding communities, making informed decisions, only for these to be overturned by government in Edinburgh.”
Local councillor Claire Feaver (Forres ward) said: "My thoughts are with the people in Forres. They will be very disappointed that the decisions of their elected representatives, acting on their behalf, have been put to one side by decision-makers who have little to do with Forres, and who don't have to live with the consequences of their actions.
"It's particularly galling because the outcome would almost certainly been of a quality more acceptable to local people if the 2020 development plan policies which will shortly be implemented had been followed which incorporate enhanced design principles. This would have made it better for people and for nature. Sadly, the chances of more natural features in the development have been lost."
"I feel this decision makes a mockery of the intentions behind the community empowerment agenda which we have been told by the Scottish Government is something we should be pursuing. It's no wonder ordinary people feel disengaged and helpless when the Scottish Government then totally ignores them and overrides their wishes."
