True value of local opinion

A decision has finally been made on the future of the Ken Hood site at Little Common.

With councillors giving the go-ahead for plans for a small supermarket and flats, it would seem only a matter of time before a national chain moves into the village.

Whether angry campaigners will be able to fight the decision through higher means remains to be seen. Certainly they are entitled to their say and whatever recourse the law provides.

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But on whichever side of the debate you stand on, Monday's council meeting highlighted another equally important issue - namely the toothless nature of decision making at a local level.

It would be wrong to speculate if Rother's decision would have been any different without the need to pay heed to Government rules and regulations (or misinterpret them as some protesters have argued) but, what is clear, is that a local planning authority who must look over their shoulder for fear of costly appeals or falling foul of obscure guidelines operate with one hand tied their back.

Many would argue the final decision on developments should rest with the locally elected representatives - however, as far as controversial, big-money building projects are concerned that is rarely, if ever the case.

Planners may want to reject a scheme, but the possibility of an appeal to be heard by a government inspector always looms large. And the people who can most afford to take that action? The big developers who are behind some of the most hotly contested plans.

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There is an old saying that the law favours the wealthy and, in planning cases at least, it would often ring true.

A cash-strapped authority like Rother has to make sure it has a water-tight case before even thinking about rejecting an application which could well go to appeal.

Officers are right to report to members the colossal costs of fighting a losing battle - costs which would come back on the tax payer.This leaves councillors with the ultimate dilemma - the rights and opinions of the individual or small community, versus the rate payers at large.

More often than not the utilitarianist viewpoint will win out.

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Some councillors have nobly said the price of an appeal should not be the sole consideration in any decision - yet it will inevitably weigh on the mind of any responsible elected member.

Leaving aside the Little Common debate, local opinion is seemingly valued as less important than planning law set down in the country's halls of power.

As such, decision making is taken away from the local representatives who should know best. And that can't be right.

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