Everyone has planning rights
Kate Fromings, Cumbernauld & Carbrain Community Hub
Notes from a planning rights workshop at Cumbernauld & Carbrain Community Hub
Planning rights may sound a little dry and unappealing, but the reason for organising this workshop is relevant to our community in 2024 and beyond. Through my various local connections, I discovered that very few people understand their rights and obligations when it comes to consultation on major development projects. A major development can be anything in excess of 50 or more homes, or a similar area of land being used for another purpose such as waste disposal, or building a shopping centre.
Cumbernauld, and therefore Carbrain, are in the midst of a maelstrom of dwindling council budgets, lack of investment, and at least two major developments hitting us at the same time! The first is for 1500 or more homes on a green space area the size of 53 football pitches; the second is our town centre shopping mall itself – this is going to be demolished in phases and then rebuilt to include housing, education, hospitality and retail.
I was shocked to discover that many residents I spoke to wrongly assumed that a) they had no right to comment on these huge developments because that was “decided by the council not us” and b) their views would not be considered if they did choose to write a comment because decisions had already been made at a higher level. My plan as a community leader was to gather together other confident residents of Carbrain and invite them to an educational workshop on the complex topic of planning and development.
Delivering a planning rights workshop for people in Cumbernauld
Working with the amazing non-profit organisations Planning Democracy and Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS) , we decided that a tailor-made workshop could be developed for adults in Cumbernauld. This would give them a chance to explore what the town means to them and what elements are important to residents as a whole (community asset mapping). This would then move on to structured discussions about when and how people can comment on consultations for major developments. The desired outcome for the workshop was to have these ‘normal’ people gain confidence, spread correct information about planning processes, and to encourage their friends, family, neighbours etc to get involved in planning discussions for the future of Cumbernauld through casual conversations.
Funding from CORRA helped us to secure the essential expertise of Clare and Nikki from PD and APRS respectively, who worked together to deliver an engaging and informative three hour session for 10 people. Without the funding, we would not have been able to provide such a detailed bespoke session, and this was one of the key elements that drove attendees’ group participation; inspiring them to continue the motivation in the following months.
Attendees are now more confident in planning discussions
We used pre- and post-workshop surveys to measure the success of the session, and the results speak for themselves. Most notably, 87% of people now said that they would take the time to find out more and comment on a planned development if they saw it mentioned on social media, whereas prior to the workshop on 12.5% of attendees said they would take the time to research it and give feedback. This is a key achievement, because if people have confidence and reassurance that they have the correct information (or know where to find it) they will more readily approach ‘difficult’ subjects, sparking new conversations. The final feedback survey is due to go out shortly to measure how often the workshop attendees are using their new-found skills.
Cumbernauld community members are speaking out about planning
We have already had one guided nature walk that took place on 9th of November as a result of the workshop! Aimee used the enthusiasm and information from the workshop (and her personal skills) to organise a free guided nature walk that took members of the public on a route past two major developments. As part of the walk she spoke about the history of the area from mining and farming, to the potential damage being inflicted by private housing estates being built next to nature reserves and on green space.
Since the workshop, Pauline has reported that she has found herself bringing up planning concerns about the HMRC development site and the impact on the local residents and infrastructure. These conversations have been on dog walks, and she felt compelled to talk to the people she met, whereas before she may have chosen to leave the comments purely for community council meetings.
More empowered residents in Carbrain
Education of the general public and accessibility to knowledge is fundamental in empowering a community. As the saying goes; you don’t know what you don’t know. Rather than having an angry knee-jerk reaction to major council plans, which leave residents feeling voiceless in the future of their town, we aim to continue alerting them to the consultation process and encouraging them to speak out with their opinions.
These networks are invaluable when it comes to eliminating the stigma of “us vs them”. With the ever changing economy of the 2020s most people do not have a choice where they can live in the county. For well-being, health and the legacy of our town, Communities Of Place must be valued. External pressure from Communities Of Interest (e.g. the council, political parties, investors) must be controlled to avoid the endemic apathy, misery and disappointment that drives negative elements of society.
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