Planning Report 2nd December 2019 to 2nd January 2020
The Festive Season reduces the Planning Departments activities, as a result only five applications were validated during this period, none deserved further attention.
19/00186/FULL. This application proposed the construction of an Aldi store to the north of Arbroath Road and south of Tom Johnson Road. This Community Council objected to the application which was refused, letter of refusal dated 19th September 2019.
The applicant lodged an appeal with the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Division on the 18th of December 2019. This was the last day of the three month period within which an appeal could be lodged.
I advise that BFCC await the outcome of the appeal without further ado.
The Application to demolish the public conveniences in Queen Street has been withdrawn.
As a result of my report made to the December meeting of BFCC I wrote to the Head of Planning and Economic Development seeking his reaction to the content of my note. His reply was prompt and a meeting is to be arranged, probably in the third week of January to discuss the subject matter.
The text of my letter follows here:
Gregor Hamilton
Head of Planning and Economic Development
Dundee City Council
Floor 6, Dundee House
50 North Lindsay Street
Dundee
DD1 1LS
4th December 2019
Dear Gregor Hamilton,
Future FULM Developments
In light of recent and potential future FULM development(s) to the north of Arbroath Road, Broughty Ferry Community Council (BFCC) is in the process of exploring how it should formally approach such future applications, particularly as they relate to developer contribution to all services. BFCC is aware of the present position as laid down in the DCC Development Plan adopted in February of this year but consider future developer contribution to be absolutely inadequate to provide the level of new services that will inevitably be required ultimately for the local authority to provide.
It is of the strong opinion that the local authority can no longer afford to provide the lion’s share of the finance needed to provide the new services and the community will not accept increases in local taxes to support their provision, which requirement has been brought about by developers who have no further interest after a particular development has been completed.
It may be that changes in planning legislation will be needed to deliver a realistic developer contribution of which the early demand should be at a 100% level, meaning that the developer(s) should include the cost of the whole provision of services, including education and health, in the initial planning application.
A copy of the planning report presented to the November meeting of BFCC is attached to inform you of what information has been provided to members to date.
The subject is a difficult one but BFCC would welcome constructive comment from you on what you believe the future might hold on the subject. A tall request indeed! However, the concerns are real and it is best they be addressed early to avoid conflict later.
Yours sincerely,
John J Watson
Planning Secretary