Ian Miller blurring Shore Road agenda

Oct 16 2009 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

Dear Editor, – I was appalled by Councillor Ian Miller’s attempt to put the record straight in your letters column (PA, October 2).

He either does not understand the issues or he has been wrongly advised by the Mythical Ministry of Misinformation.

In his rebuttal of the allegation that he has ducked a debate regarding the proposed Shore Road incinerator, he spends many column inches defending the wrong application.

In your front page article two weeks ago, Mr Beattie was requesting – on behalf of the community council – a meeting with Mr Miller to make him fully aware of the issues surrounding the need for revocation of the original application.

The application in question was the outline planning permission (OPP) granted in 2006.

This is NOT an application under discussion and it is not live.

Indeed, it was a completed application by Holden and not Grundon.

It has been approved by the council and cannot be overturned other than by revoking it.

Mr Miller makes no mention of this application and chooses to discuss the current reserved matters application.

He then uses an incorrect interpretation of the code of conduct to defend his, and other members’ inaction.

In order that Mr Miller is no longer under the spell of the Ministry of Misinformation, here is section 65 of the Act (1997) which empowers the local planning authority to revoke this application.

“Power to revoke or modify planning permission: (1) If it appears to the planning authority that it is expedient to revoke or modify any permission to develop land granted on an application made under this Part, the authority may by order revoke or modify the permission to such extent as they consider expedient.”

From the PA article, I believe that this is what Mr Beattie and hiscolleagues wanted to discuss, not debate.

They have taken legal advice and it has been reported in this paper that the approval of the original OPP was not lawful.

The big problem is of course that to revoke the outline PP they have to give reasons and this means that, as a planning authority, they have to admit they made a mistake.

Mr Miller’s rebuttal is another good example of a politician answering the question he wants to answer and not the one asked.

Douglas Fulton,

St Martins Road,

Balbeggie.