I NOTE from a recent report in the Advertiser that Stewart Noble is calling for Argyll and Bute Council to have Helensburgh planning decisions taken by Helensburgh councillors.

Although Mr Noble is a community councillor, I do not know if he is speaking as an individual or on behalf of Helensburgh Community Council (HCC) as no minutes of HCC meetings have been posted on the HCC website since October 26, 2017.

I am assuming that Mr Noble thinks that by only allowing Helensburgh councillors to decide Helensburgh planning applications, that this may produce a different decision – and one that may suit him.

Is he therefore saying that councillors who do not represent a ward within any of our Argyll and Bute towns should have no say on planning applications within any of these towns?

Where does this leave councillors who represent rural areas? Would we be barred from the planning, protective services and licensing committee (PPSL)?

What about planning applications in rural areas? Will councillors from towns still be able to take decisions on applications within our rural communities?

Why should a Helensburgh councillor decide planning applications in Kilcreggan, Rosneath, and Garelochhead and so on if I, as a Lomond North councillor, cannot decide applications in a Helensburgh ward?

I do not think that this proposal has been thought through.

As the Local Development Plan (LDP) and planning policies are the main determining factors when deciding planning applications, it should make no difference to the outcome where the councillors on the PPSL, including myself, come from.

They – we – are all required to take the same factors into consideration when reaching a decision on whether to grant planning permission for any application.

Mr Noble will be aware that the chair of the PPSL is a Helensburgh councillor. As the statistics will show, it is unusual for the chair of the PPSL, or of any other committee, to go against the recommendation made by the council’s officials.

Unfortunately, the policy for holding a local hearing has been changed. This makes it more difficult for councillors like me to get support for a local hearing.

I have proposed a number of local hearings recently, only to have my proposal rejected by the PPSL. This is what Mr Noble should be trying to change.