Current Petitions

PE509, from Mr Russell Craig, concerns planning procedures. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to take the necessary steps to change planning procedures and to review the legislation affecting certain types of development, such as crematoria.A response has been received from the Executive. Its view is that the current planning system is suitably robust and allows for planning authorities to prepare their own development plan policies and, with the support of planning guidance from the Executive, to determine individual applications. In certain circumstances—where there is a significant departure from agreed development plans or where a council has a significant interest in the proposed development—the planning system provides for applications to be notified to ministers for decision. The application that prompted PE509 has been notified to ministers, and the petitioner has had an opportunity to give evidence at a public local inquiry. The decision of that inquiry has still to be announced.The Executive has made it clear that it is not aware of there being concerns throughout Scotland about the location of new crematoria. It says that it has not received calls for specific planning guidance on the issue and that, therefore, no guidance on the subject has been prepared. The Executive's view appears to be borne out by that facts that the individual contentious planning application that prompted the petition has been notified to ministers under the existing statutory planning process, and that a full public local inquiry has been held. That inquiry has allowed all the relevant planning considerations, including local objections, to be taken fully into account.As it would be difficult to justify a review of planning policy based solely on the concerns that are raised in the petition, it is recommended that we agree to take no further action on the petition.

However, there has been a public local inquiry into the planning application, at which people were able to give their input.

Dorothy-Grace Elder makes a fair point about the fact that SEPA does not comment on the site location of such developments. However, to be fair, that is not what PE509 is about. The petition is about the planning process. Given the fact that a full local public inquiry has taken place and that, as the issue has not yet been resolved, we do not know the final decision, there would be no point in calling for a general review of planning law on the basis of the petition. That is the recommendation. Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.