by EWAN LAMB
Scotland's national planning authority has appointed three more reporters to work on the forthcoming examination of Scottish Borders Council's Local Development Plan [LDP] which means the local authority faces a sizeable bill to have hundreds of outstanding issues resolved.
The initial appointment of Nick Smith as the reporter for the examination means the Borders council will have to pay £400 a day for his services.
But now it has been confirmed that Philip Barton, Malcolm Mahony and Alison Kirkwood will also be involved in the process. It is likely their fees could amount to £290 per day plus expenses.
As we reported previously the Borders LDP contains dozens of development proposals including housing allocations for each of the area's settlements. A consultation exercise prior to SBC's request for an examination of the plan attracted a total of 1,043 representations from members of the public, community groups, local and national businesses and organisations.
Following analysis of the representations, there are unresolved issues linked to 1,008 of these submissions. These have been organised into 76 groups.
The examination will determine which of the council's proposed housing allocations for each Borders settlement should remain in the LDP.
In its representation, for example, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has requested that four of the proposed sites for housing developments should be removed from the document because of the perceived risk of flooding. In addition, the environmental watchdogs is seeking amendments to housing plans in a substantial number of cases.
A large number of the proposals in the LDP are the target for challenges from local residents and from community groups, many of them clearly opposed to further housebuilding in their area.
There have also been submissions which express views and criticisms on policies including the development of more wind farms among the Borders hills.
These projects are among the most contentious, and there is a widely held view that the region already has more than its fair share of turbines while the renewable energy lobby takes an entirely different view.
The council states in its introduction to the wide-ranging LDP: "It sets out a series of policies and proposals indicating where development can or should not take place and provides guidance on the future provision of a range of subjects including housing, business and industrial use, transport, infrastructure and recreation. It seeks to deliver sustainability and promote a low carbon economy, promote health and wellbeing, promote economic growth, regenerate town centres and give protection to the built and natural heritage.
And in a section of the LDP which looks at the impact of Coronavirus the planners claim: "A high performing planning system will have a critical role in supporting our future economic and societal recovery. The LDP must address these issues and policies within the LDP allow contemplation of a range of material considerations at any given period.
"Consequently, implications Covid 19 may be having on, for example, the economy, performance of town centres, business recovery, house building, health and well-being will be addressed as part of the decision making process for relevant planning applications."
The document's comments on 'Planning for Housing' include the following: "The LDP incorporates a generous supply of housing land for a range of users. Although there have been limited annual completion rates for mainstream housing, there has been a significant increase in housebuilding by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) which has offered greater opportunities for affordable units.
"Given the limited take up of allocated housing sites, the high land supply within the current adopted LDP and the limited number of new houses required for the Scottish Borders as identified within HNDA2 [Housing Needs and Demands Assessment], the LDP promotes an appropriate number of new housing sites to reflect the level of demand."
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