Following her letter to the East Dunbartonshire Council over the timing of its Local Planning Decision and Historic Environment Designations Review, the local authority has informed Pam Gosal that it will extend it’s consultation until 31 May 2021.
Earlier this month, Mrs Gosal highlighted her concerns that local residents were unable to engage with the council’s planning process and called on the council to review how it would conduct its consultation.
Firstly, Mrs Gosal raised the issue of timing of the consultation. LDP2 consultation finished at 5pm 15th January 2021 and the Historic Environment Designations Review consultation started 15th January 2021, showing a clear overlap of consultation.
Secondly, the Scottish Conservative hopeful was concerned about the impact of COVID as she’s argued this has impacted the ability of local residents to ensure their voices are heard without physical consultations, outreach meetings and community engagement.
Lastly, Mrs Gosal is worried that the LDP2 consultation and the Historic Environment Designations review consultations have been launched on the same day.
After East Dunbartonshire Council assured the prospective Scottish Conservative candidate that of its “commitment … to ensure that a consistent and robust evidence base
is in place“, Mrs Gosal welcomed the news.
Pam Gosal, Scottish Conservative candidate for Milngavie and Clydebank, commented:
“This is an important step towards ensuring that local residents can have their voices heard. Milngavie is one of the best places in Scotland to live and work and our historic townscape and environment play a huge role in this.
“Whilst I’m encouraged by the Council’s decision, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that a COVID consultation reflects the views of our community. As a community member, and prospective MSP, I look forward to working with the local authority to ensure that this is the case.”