I appreciate your comments but i believe that my question raises broader issues of democratic represenation in the planning system and I have not seen this mentioned previously through my searches, and even if it has been mentioned previously I believe it is worth discussing again. I am surprised that you are alarmed at what I believe to be a perfectly valid discussion point and I did not mention any particular planning application so I cannot see how the forum could be leaving itself open to any legal problems. So my question still stands if anybody is interested in giving their opinion.