COMMUNITY councillors have pleaded for a hearing on controversial housing plans to be delayed until a meeting can be held in person.
But Argyll and Bute Council insists that suitable arrangements are in place to consider an application for 12 houses in Portincaple, near Garelochhead, using digital technology.
The authority’s planning, protective services and licensing (PPSL) committee is due to hold a hearing on Tuesday, January 26 to decide whether to approve developer Pelham Olive’s application for a hillside site overlooking Loch Long.
More than 1,100 people have objected to the plans, which have also attracted two expressions of support.
The council announced earlier this month that the PPSL committee would hold a hearing via Skype.
But Garelochhead Community Council (GCC) says that Scotland’s tougher “stay at home” regulations have made it difficult for objectors to prepare for the hearing – and have asked for it to be postponed until Covid-19 restrictions have eased enough for the hearing to take place in person.
GCC secretary Fergus Madigan also said that the hearing would not be fair if objectors were not able to communicate freely.
The committee decided in August to hold the hearing virtually. It would have been held in person if possible, but the current public health restrictions ruled out the possibility.
Mr Madigan said: “Following the stay at home regulations that came into effect on January 5, mixing between households and individuals meeting up are severely restricted.
“This causes significant difficulties for members of the community to adequately prepare for the hearing, as well as restricting their ability to support one another during the hearing itself.
“None of the current exemptions to these restrictions would apply in this case.
“The objectors (residents) are lay-people. They are not a professional body, do not have professional planning expertise, and do not possess the resources to remotely access and exchange documents freely.
“They are currently unable to meet up, to discuss, and to research an effective presentation for the planned hearing.
“They are under government instruction to stay at home, and some do not possess the necessary electronic communication equipment that would enable this to happen.
“The residents, as lay people, do not have normal access to public records in libraries [or] national archives in physical form, and their ability to access them digitally is extremely hampered in the current lockdown.
READ MORE: Controversial Portincaple housing plans 'should be approved', say council officials
“Effective consultation with private industry consultees is severely restricted as many have temporarily closed or are running on a reduced staffing level due to furlough and working from home.
“The inability to communicate freely during the hearing, nor be able to support each other, nor offer advice to each other whilst responding to questions from professional bodies and organisations, is unjust and does in no way constitute nor enable a fair and balanced hearing.”
Mr Olive’s application was originally received by the council almost exactly 12 months ago – on January 20, 2020 – and was validated by the authority two weeks later.
Mr Madigan added: “Portincaple is a unique and isolated minor settlement of freehold properties with no council assets apart from the single lane entry/exit road.
“We feel it vital that the objectors are allowed to present the case in an environment that allows them to present their strongest possible case thus upholding the principles of what is fair and just.
“Given the current industry pressure on the Scottish Government to restrict construction work, there is no urgency for this hearing to take place.
“We note there is a very real possibility of holding a more ‘normal’ public hearing, including perhaps a site visit in the next two to three months, and strongly recommend that the hearing is postponed until a date that allows a fair hearing, and minimises the chance for any future legal challenge with regard to due and fair process being followed.”
An Argyll and Bute Council spokesperson said: “The council’s PPSL committee has successfully completed three pre-determination planning hearings since taking the decision to move them online, as part of its Covid response, in August 2020.
“This approach has been used elsewhere in Scotland and prevents excessive delays in determining applications.
“The process in place for virtual hearings is essentially no different to those of physical ones.
“It allows the applicant, supporters, objectors, consultees and third parties, to present their views on the submission before the committee makes a decision. It also enables objectors and supporters who wish to attend as observers to do so.
“The information provided to members at the hearing contains everything relevant to the application, including responses from consultees and details of support or objection to the application.
“This information is the same as would be provided at such a hearing if it were being held in a physical environment, outwith the Covid period.”
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