Earlier this year at the Pollokshields Area Partnership, where community organisations meet with ward councillors and other public authorities meet, issues were raised about planning matters and it was agreed to invited planning staff to a future meeting to discuss this. The Strathbungo Society offered to prepare a list of questions and issues affecting the Conservation Area in conjunction with Pollokshields Heritage and Community Council. Arising out of this we produced a joint paper (attached) which was presented to the Area Partnership at the end of May. The focus of the paper is very much on planning enforcement issues (e.g there are a number of commercial premises that have done works, applied for planning permission retrospectively and then been refused). Our thanks to Fiona Mackinnon in particular who collated all the Strathbungo information from the Council data base that support this – its quite long so not pasted here but I can send a copy to anyone interested (nickkempe@tinyworld.co.uk).

This was the first time the Partnership had considered a paper produced by community organisations. It resulted in an hour long discussion about the extent to which the Council is able and willing to help promote the character of conservation areas whether by way of enforcing planning requirements or ensuring better co-ordination across Council departments (e.g the quality of the pavements on Nithsdale Road and environs) or the quality of litter clearance. There was no clear conclusion to the discussion but the planning department committed to responding to our questions in writing and also that they will be updating the conservation area appraisal for Strathbungo. Watch this space!

Meantime if you have any comments on the paper do get in contact with the Society or come along to a meeting. While the paper focussed on the conservation area, we are keen to extend its scope to cover other streets within Strathbungo.

Questions for Planning for the Pollokshields Area Partnership Meeting

Introduction and background
The built form and quality of much of the Pollokshields Area Partnership area is formally and statutorily recognised by Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government by way of planning policy, and specifically heritage, conservation area and other related policies.
Pollokshields Partnership area has among the highest levels of Conservation Area status of any Council ward and the implementation and enforcement of these policies contribute directly to maintaining and enhancing the area and retaining its unique, Scotland / UK-wide status as a superlative example of early Victorian garden suburb (Pollokshields) and an early railway suburb (Strathbungo). Taken together, Pollokshields ward contributes positively to Glasgow’s heritage as the UK’s most complete Victorian city – an asset that is regularly cited as a key reason for people to visit the city.
It is in this context – a predominantly Conservation Area ward – that Strathbungo Society, Pollokshields Heritage and Pollokshields Community Council have come together to review the existing application and enforcement of the Council’s own specified planning policies for the ward.

Pollokshields Area Partnership and Planning
At the last meeting of the Pollokshields Area Partnership Planning staff were invited to speak but gave their apologies stating they were unsure of what issues members wanted to address. To help inform the Partnership and Planning officials, the Strathbungo Society, Pollokshields Heritage and Pollokshields Community Council have looked at a number of planning issues within the area and have jointly identified a number of questions (below) they would like the meeting to address.
We have also provided some supporting evidence. The collection of this data has been complicated due to changes to the planning database over the past few weeks (there appears to have been an upgrade but for a time much of the functionality disappeared). This has meant that we have only been able to provide full background data for Strathbungo (where the data was extracted prior to the current changes) and the evidence for Pollokshields is more selective. All the evidence presented is in the public domain and in included at Appendix 1.
General Planning Questions
1) What is the current status of the Strathbungo and Pollokshields Conservation Area Appraisals and what parts if any of it have been replaced by developments in Council policy since they were approved? What plans are there to update the appraisals? Our understanding was following the approval of appraisals, a conservation area management plan should have been developed but there is no mention of these in the draft Local Development Plan. Can we have assurances that the conservation appraisals will be carried forward into the draft Local Development Plan?
2) What is the current status of the Design Guidance which is linked to conservation area appraisals? The Pollokshields Heritage cases show there is an inconsistent application of the design guidance. Why is this?
3) More specifically, is the aim of the Council’s planning policy still to improve streetscapes in conservation areas through the use of traditional materials? If so, what liaison mechanisms are in place, if any, with the roads section in Land and Environmental Services to ensure policy is “joined up” in this regard?
The background to these questions is that last year representatives of the Strathbungo Society met with representatives from the roads section of Land and Environment Services about new slurry seals which had been used to resurface pavements along Nithsdale Road and Nithsdale Street. The Strathbungo Society representatives were informed by LES staff that they pays no regard to conservation area appraisals when resurfacing streets and pavements, and that they operate on budgets which do not allow for pavement improvements as opposed to maintenance to take place and that any financing for pavement improvements was the responsibility of DRS. The Strathbungo Conservation Area Appraisal lists the traditional materials used in the area, which include granite slabs, whin setts and cobbles; and notes the existence of other more modern materials, including tarmac, but notes: “this does not mean their use is acceptable”. It goes on to state:
• “…use of high quality traditional building materials contributes to the character of the Conservation Area”
• “The use of materials in any conservation area is another element of its character and appearance”
• “The quality and upkeep of the public realm within the conservation area is important”.

Then under Development Policies and Design Guidance the Appraisal states that: “The re-introduction of quality surfacing should be encouraged”; and makes a specific reference to the policies at the time on footpaths and carriageways.
Planning Enforcement Questions
The Strathbungo Society, Pollokshields Heritage and Pollokshields Community Council have concerns regarding the vigour, consistency and application of planning enforcement in the Pollokshields Partnership area and seeks to engage positively and directly with Planning officials and the Council to help clarify and answer the following questions.
1) How is planning enforcement action initiated? We have received advice over the phone that for the Council to take enforcement action a formal complaint requires to be submitted via an online complaint form. This requires the complainer to lodge their name and address. However, on the GCC enforcement database for the Strathbungo area two enforcement actions are listed as “Internal referrals”. While we can understand the need for openness, sometimes the requirement to lodge a name and address can have implications for the person complaining and we would like to know whether or if the Planning Officer is made aware of a breach, and evidence provided about this, whether they can initiate enforcement without someone outside the department (eg member of the public, elected official etc.) making a formal complaint?
2) Related to this, what is the duty of Planning Officers to act if, in the course of their duties, they come across obvious breaches of planning requirements? (An example is where a planning officer while out on visits spots uPVC windows or satellite dishes on the front elevation of houses in conservation areas).
3) What arrangements are there for Building Control to alert Planning where they become aware of breaches of planning requirements in Conservation Areas?
4) What resources are available for planning enforcement now compared to five years ago in the Pollokshields Area Partnership area?
5) What are the procedures, rules and criteria for deciding to pursue planning enforcement action in cases where there has been a clear breach of planning requirements? (In other words what are the rules that have determined in the cases we have provided about whether action has been pursued or not?).
More specifically:
a) It appears from our analysis that certain breaches (eg satellite dishes) are more likely to be remedied than others (eg installation of uPVC windows where in our area 9 cases have been closed without follow up action) – why is this? We also have evidence that the remedy in respect of satellite is not applied consistently – why is this?
b) Does the Council have any criteria for referring planning breaches on to the Procurator Fiscal and if so what are they and how is this working? What percentage of planning breaches that have not been remedied are passed on to the Procurator Fiscal? Were any of the 9 cases involving uPVC windows in Strathbungo that have been closed without remedy ever referred to the Procurator Fiscal?
c) When the Council services an enforcement notice and the owner then applies for planning permission, we understand the enforcement action is suspended. We would request clarification of what then happens if planning permission is refused – are there any criteria which determine whether or not the planning officer reactivates the enforcement action?
6) We would welcome clarification of the meaning of terminology used in the data base and the criteria used for different decisions and more specifically:
a) Under Decision Reason, there appears “Justification from Manager” and “Justification from Planner”. What constitutes justification and what procedures are there to determine when such cases need to be decided by the Manager rather than the Planner?
b) What are the criteria in use to determine the “not expedient” reason for taking no further action?
c) Why under status is the database showing so many cases as “Unknown” when previous status was recorded as “granted”, “refused” or “pending”?
d) Why are so many reasons for closure given as “Not available”?
7) What factors determine the length of time it takes in cases where planning permission has been applied for retrospectively and then refused to initiate enforcement action? Is there a procedure which determines what actions are taken after what length of time?
8) Where a property subject to enforcement action is sold, does the change in ownership have any effect on the enforcement action? More specifically how many enforcement actions have proceeded after a change of ownership?
9) Our understanding is that enforcement action against breaches of planning permission in conservation areas that concern unlisted buildings cannot be pursued if four years or more has elapsed since the breach but there is no time limit for listed buildings. Is this correct?
10) Does failure to take enforcement action set any legal precedents in terms of the Council’s ability to take actions against similar breaches in the future? (See Pollokshields example of uPVC windows on Melville Street and the Reporter’s decision in Appendix 1). If so, what degree of non-action would set a precedent? (We can understand the Council might be unaware of a specific breach and that might explain a lack of action but are concerned that if for example a certain number of properties in a street have uPVC windows, it might become much harder for the Council to take action against similar breaches in future, not just on moral grounds of fairness but legal grounds too).
11) Have there ever been any cases of breach of planning requirements in the Pollokshields and Strathbungo Conservation Areas which have been prosecuted?
12) Has any enforcement action ever been taken in respect of felling or pruning of trees that has taken place without appropriate reasons in the conservation areas?

Strathbungo Society
Pollokshields Heritage
Pollokshields Community Council

8 May 2015