New Petitions

The next new petition is PE439, from Mr W and Mrs A Flanagan. The petition calls on the Parliament to take a range of steps to introduce safeguards to protect the rights of the public in relation to the planning system. The petition arises out of Mr and Mrs Flanagan's experience when a planning authority chose not to defer the granting of further planning permission for a development until an investigation had been carried out into why planning conditions relating to water and sewerage systems for the previous phase of the development had not been adhered to. The petition states that complaints made to the local government ombudsman—about the failure of the council to follow planning policy and to take into account relevant factual information that had been provided by the local councillor and a legal adviser—were not investigated.The Flanagans argue that their human rights are being eroded by the planning system in Scotland. They call for a number of reforms, including third-party appeals—an issue that the committee has considered before—and compensation to private interests that have been unreasonably damaged. They say that planning decisions should be monitored by approved bodies.We dealt with a similar petition—PE414—in November, when we agreed to write to the Scottish Executive to ask for its response to points on third-party appeals and compliance with the European convention on human rights. We are still waiting for a response. It is suggested that we write quickly to the Executive to ask for a response to points raised in both PE414 and the new petition. When we get a response, we can consider both petitions jointly. In the meantime, it is suggested that we pass PE439 to the Transport and the Environment Committee for information.Members indicated agreement.