In reply to tony:
The Minister's decision falls short of what those campaigning for change wanted. The organisations involved in the LINK campaign have pressed hard for all tracks to require full planning consent.
The new arrangements will mean that tracks for agricultural or forestry purposes, which do not currently require planning consent, will have to be notified to the relevant planning authority before construction begins. The authority can then either advise the applicant that the plan needs to be submitted for full planning approval because it is not permitted development (i.e. it is not for agricultural or forestry purposes) or the plan needs approval in terms of proposed line, construction etc or the applicant can simply go ahead with construction.
There are two major problems with the proposed changes:
1)There remains a major democratic deficit. Most hill tracks are major infrastructure projects and many will still go ahead without the opportunity for members of the public or organisation having the opportunity to comment or object.
2) The timescales being proposed for planning authorities to make decisions is far too short and so some tracks may slip through without adequate scrutiny.
On the plus side, the Government is convening a working group, of which LINK will be a member, to draw up guidance for planning authorities. The Government will also monitor the working of the new arrangements.
Should those concerns about the damage be pleased? North East Mountain Trust cautiously welcomes the changes but with the reservations expressed above. The situation should not be worse than the current one.
George Allan (NEMT)
