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Consultations

�SDEF Response Consultation on Draft Planning Advice Note: Community Engagement

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SDEF

The Scottish Disability Equality Forum works for social inclusion in Scotland through the removal of barriers and the promotion of equal access for people affected by disability.

It is a membership organisation, representing individuals with any type of impairment, disability organisations and groups who share its values. It aims to ensure the voices of people affected by disability are heard and heeded.

SDEF promotes access in its widest sense: access to the built and natural environment and access to the same opportunities as are enjoyed by other people in our community. It takes a broad definition of access, within which it focuses on access to the environment and access to information and mechanisms promoting two-way communications. It campaigns to improve access in these areas and seeks to become a free source of high quality information on them.

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General comments

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SDEF welcomes the general tone of the PAN and the emphasis placed on planners recognising and utilising community planning networks that represent a wider range of interest groups, including those in the voluntary sector. Community councils are not always representative of the entire community and it is vital that groups such as access panels, which are mainly comprised of people with disabilities, are included in the network. The access panels have a great deal of experience on access issues that should be drawn upon.

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Participation statements should be as widely promoted as possible and there should be a formal method of circulating them. Those with impairments are keen to participate at all stages of the planning process and it is particularly important that they are involved in the early stages of development. Additionally, local authorities are required to have a Disability Equality Scheme in place under the Disability Equality Duty by December 2006, which demonstrates how those with disabilities have been involved in their activities; the planning process would be covered by this.

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According to the PAN, it is the role of elected councillors to promote awareness by engaging with their electorate. In some cases people with disabilities have found barriers to involvement or their views not taken into consideration. Greater awareness on the parts of councillors as to their responsibilities should be welcomed.

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Those involved in the planning process need to recognise that different sections of the community have different requirements when holding meetings, for example, parents and carers, people affected by impairment and those in employment and should ensure that their needs are catered for.

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The minimum six week participation period for the proposed plan and action programme is a tight timescale and some community groups may find it difficult to organise well thought out comments in this period.

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The distinction between planning issues and building regulations is a problematic area for those seeking to improve physical access. This has not been addressed by the PAN but needs to be tackled in order to ensure that people with disabilities can more fully ensure that barriers do not continue to be inbuilt.

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Consultation Questions

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1. Have you ever been involved in the planning system?

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SDEF members have been involved in the planning system over access matters for many years and have commented on a range of developments from access to local caf�s to housing developments and transport infrastructure.

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2. What would make it easier for you to have your voice heard?

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A designated network set in place for disability access panels to present their concerns to a local authority would make it easier for panels to represent the needs of local disabled people. This would enable panel representatives to gather up all the local concerns between meetings and present all the information to the planning department at one time, rather than having to contact them and arranging to discuss concerns for each individual case.

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3. What do you think might encourage you, and others, to get involved?

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A quicker response time to answering queries would be more encouraging. An open invitation for access panels to attend consultation meetings on the disabled access planning requirements of local buildings (advertised in the local press perhaps).

Weekly planning applications should be advertised. Care should be taken to ensure that the planning register accessible, whether in hard copy or electronic format.

Talks provided by the local authority on current disability access legislation and how to raise a concern if a building does not meet standards would promote confidence among community members. Training should also be provided to foster better understanding of the planning process and the role of community planning networks. Groups may need additional resources to enable them to become effective partners in the process, either in terms of support workers or funding to enable them to hold meetings.

Improved feedback on how the needs of those with disabilities have been taken into consideration would help to make it clear that the views of those involved have been taken seriously. People will cease to participate if they feel that they are not heard or cannot see that they have had an impact.

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