As reported in today's Courier and on Wave 102 news (click on 'play' above to listen), I have written to Dundee City Council's Chief Executive David Dorward in the following terms :
David
I wish to query exactly what will be submitted to Scottish Government over our statutory consultee response on the Forth Energy biomass planning application.
The vote on this matter at committee was exceptionally close – 14 to 13 in favour of the view that the council does not formally object to the biomass application at this stage. For those of us who are strongly opposed to the biomass proposal on grounds of public health and visual amenity and whose view is that we should firmly oppose the biomass application at this stage, a highly unsatisfactory situation has now arisen.
Throughout the past few months up to the date of Monday’s committee meeting, as you know, elected members were advised not to express a view on the application publicly in case this compromised their impartiality when it came to taking a view at the City Council’s Policy and Resources Committee as a statutory consultee. In the immediate period before the committee met, the Legal Manager advised me :
“Strictly speaking, whilst this is not a planning application, it is our view that it would be preferable (and would remove a potential ground of challenge) if elected members did not publicly express a concluded view on the application until they have heard the Deputations and the answers to any questions put to them and to officers.”
Because of this advice, many elected members felt unable to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation undertaken by its Energy Consents and Deployment Unit last year. This means that many councillors were not able to give their views to government on the biomass proposal and highlight issues of concern to their constituents.
Given that, on the statutory consultee response, the successful motion that fails to object to the application at this stage narrowly won the vote, the views of many councillors who are outright opposed to the application are simply not reflected anywhere in the consultation process. Our view narrowly lost at committee and we are too late to respond to the government’s consultation exercise. Scottish Government advises “The consultation period for the addendum is now closed and we are no longer accepting consultation responses or representations from members of the public. A decision will be made on this application once a response is received from Dundee City Council in late January 2011.”
I would therefore propose that our response as a statutory consultee should include a section outlining the minority view on the night and indicate the closeness of the vote. It is vitally important that Scottish Government, in determining this application, is aware that the City Council’s position of failing to outright object at this stage, won the day only by a single vote and there is a substantial body of opinion on the City Council with a different view.
I look forward to your response and thank you in advance.
Best regards
Fraser
Cllr Fraser Macpherson
Councillor for the West End
Liberal Democrat Group Leader - Dundee City Council