Feedback for thesis

for some planners it’s a matter of what side of the bed they got up on that particular day… because of the general nature of dev. plans it gives a lot of scope to planners. and as we have all heard about, gives a lot of scope to councillors too.
i feel the objection system needs a review. i’m not advocating getting rid of it but if something is to benefit the community then there should be a process where all objections are rendered invalid. for the greater good and all that. and not allow the objectors carry it further and hold up these benefits because of personal reasons. obviously though this need to be balanced with good design. the greater involvement of the city or county architect in the scheme. just a thought to throw out there for discussion.

Fin, are you serious? Objections cannot be made for personal reasons. It is specificaly set out as to what people can and cannot object on. Obviously some people do object for personal reasons, but I really don’t think that these are taken in to account during a decision process.

I agree that some better way of getting communities involved in planning is needed, but at present the objections method is the only one which is available.

Originally posted by phil
Fin, are you serious? Objections cannot be made for personal reasons. It is specificaly set out as to what people can and cannot object on. Obviously some people do object for personal reasons, but I really don’t think that these are taken in to account during a decision process.

anyone can object for any reason and it is very easy to find a technicial reason. that’s why there are planning consultants. i’m not saying to stop all objections as that’s un-democratic but a re-think on policy is definately needed.

Originally posted by phil

I agree that some better way of getting communities involved in planning is needed, but at present the objections method is the only one which is available.

exactly. why is it when it can be abused so easily

How do you think it should be altered? I for example, think that it is problematic that developers or a developers representatives can have meetings with planners prior to an application being submitted, whereas those who end up objecting to proposals cannot. I think that it is a good idea that planners meet with potential developers, but I also think that they should meet with community representatives as well. If this was the case I think development would be far more balanced and there would be less objections.

that’s very true. at the moment it’s up to the developer if he/she wants to have public consultations. i agree for big jobs this is wise for the developer as the public feel as if they are involved in the whole process. memebrs of the public rarely get to even speak to the planners even on the phone. but having public meetings on every big development may not get everyones support. ie planners who have better things to do, developers who don’t give a crap etc,
as for how to fix it…well it’s very easy to say it needs fixing and then give out about new proposals but another thing to think of a way so will have to get back to you on that after i think about it for a while 🙂