PEOPLE are being asked for their views on how Lichfield District Council intends to involve the community in setting planning policies.
The local authority sets out its methods in the draft Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) which it has to review and update every five years.
It identifies how the council intends to engage with residents, businesses and other interested parties to determine planning applications.
Cllr Alex Farrell, Lichfield District Council’s cabinet member for housing and the Local Plan, said:
“Planning affects us all – the homes we live in, the places we work, the open spaces we enjoy and leisure facilities we use are all a result of planning policies and decisions.
“We want to ensure we are reaching and involving all members of the community in future consultations, so your feedback will help us ensure that we are doing just that.”
The consultation runs until 11.59pm on 18th April. People can view and comment on the document via the planning policy consultation portal. A physical copy is available to view at Lichfield District Council’s reception in Frog Lane.
Why is the document with information on this ‘involving communities on planning policies’ so long winded and not straight forward? It’s almost as though LDC don’t really want communities to comment.
The amount of bad decisions that have already been made with regard to planning and Lichfield’s beautiful green surrounding fields almost gone. I feel this idea is too little too late .
We already know how Lichfield District Council intends to involve the community in planning policies. When there was a general outcry about building houses on the Friasgate site they ran a survey at the council offices asking citizens to choose the bricks and tiles and style of housing.
At planning meetings any public input has one representative given five minutes on a stop watch to present any objections. The generally aged committee members sit in disdain while such objections are delivered and then ignored.
Would Lichfield really have suffered the devestating developments had the council been listening to local people? Of course not. These present pretentions are the usual smoke screen tactics we have become so used to.