In November 2008 the National Park Authority (NPA) put out to public consultation the first Draft Local Plan. Despite considerable local opposition to the level of development proposed by the NPA, the NPA Board approved the Finalised Draft Local Plan - which in relation to Callander is substantively the same as the first Draft - on December 14th 2009. They had not seen the NPA's Report on the first consultation because that report was not published until March 31st 2010.
The public consultation on the Finalised Draft Local Plan ran between 19th February and April 6th 2010. As part of this consultation the NPA held an open day at their office in Callander on March 1st 2010. However, they publicised it via the Stirling Observer, not the Ben Ledi View, and so only 60 people from Callander (out of a population of about 2,700) attended. In addition to this oversight, the NPA did not clearly inform the population of Callander that comments regarding the first Draft Local Plan would be disregarded in relation to the Finalised Draft Local Plan. In effect this protected the Finalised Draft Plan from the level of scrutiny and criticism it deserved: objectors were not aware that they must repeat their objections in order that their views be taken into account and put on record.
Because the NPA's Report on the first consultation was not published until March 31st 2010 - and then only online via a link towards the bottom of the Park's Finalised Draft Local Plan web page – objectors had no way of knowing what the NPA's responses to their objections to the first Draft had been, at least until the last few days of the consultation period if they saw the Report at all.
A Freedom of Information request was submitted by a Callander ECG member to the Park Authority asking for clarification as to why that Report was not made available to the public at the start of the second consultation. The Park's answer was that:
"The report was not completed until the end of March 2010. It is acknowledged that it would have been beneficial to release the report earlier so respondents could view their previous responses and the staff recommendations and determine if they wanted to respond to the finalised draft plan consultation."
In the same letter the Park admits that because the Report wasn't ready the NPA Board didn't see it and, instead, was briefed on key issues arising from it along with the Park's responses to those issues.
Whether the Board was at any point made aware of the full level of concern emanating from Callander – given that the Report was still being drafted – remains unclear.
What is clear is that on December 14th 2009 NPA Forward Planning staff issued a paper to the NPA Board outlining key changes to the Plan. (Note, this was produced before the Report was completed.) It claimed that only 22 objections had been received relating to the level of proposed development in Callander. Reading the Report now it is clear that Forward Planning's paper significantly downplayed both the number of objections relating to Callander and the level of opposition articulated therein.
Given the way that information about the first consultation was presented and disseminated by the Park, we question the validity of the second consultation, i.e. the one pertaining to the Finalised Draft Local Plan.
More Freedom of Information Requests will follow. Watch this space for the Park's responses.