Government 'taking contentious planning decisions away from local'

Wind farms: Jackson Carlaw has outlined his concerns over the government's attitude to wind farms.

Planning decisions for projects such as wind turbines and phone masts are being taken out of the hands of local authorities because government ministers "believe they know best", according to the Conservatives.

The party has accused the Scottish Government of increasingly centralising power instead of devolving decision-making down to council level.

During a debate in Holyrood, Conservative MSP Jackson Carlaw highlighted the planning system as the area where centralisation was most "consuming in its suffocation of local determination".

Referring to wind farm campaigners, he said: "Just yesterday, outside Parliament stood many who have become exasperated with the physical consequences of the Scottish Government's seemingly insatiable appetite for wind turbines.

"Councils are now overwhelmed with applications fuelled by subsidies and find that whatever their own local determination the likelihood is that a refusal will be overturned."

Turning to mobile phone mast planning applications, Mr Carlaw said of the 25 of those rejected locally, 17 decisions had been overturned by the Government.

He said communities also faced campaigning against "potential devastating applications" without the involvement of local councillors, who, under the councillors' code of conduct, are not allowed to express an opinion on an application until the time comes to make a decision.

Mr Carlaw added: "It is both ridiculous and insidious that councillors elected with a relatively small local community cannot express their opinion or campaign in respect of a planning application without finding they have forfeited the right to vote on that application."

He told MSPs the Tories would abolish the code and allow local authorities to bring forward their own codes. He said: "We believe that being elected to office is in itself a commitment to act in the public interest and a 'forced objectivity' in planning decisions is unnecessary."

Local government minister Derek Mackay, however, said the Conservatives had provided "empty rhetoric", stating it was "nonsense" that the Government was overturning applications across the country.

He said: "Let's take telecommunications masts. Fewer applications are coming to the reporters administration for determination or appeal, compared to previous administrations. I would suggest it's less localism and more opportunism from the opposition parties on these matters."

He added: "Let's turn to turbines. You suggest that across the country we are overturning the wind farm and turbine views of local people."

Mr Mackay said the Government agreed with the decisions taken by local authorities on wind turbine applications in two-thirds of appeal cases. He added: "It's patently inaccurate and untrue to say we are overturning decisions across the country."

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