ABOUT PLANNING DEMOCRACY
Planning Democracy is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) founded in 2009. We have a network of dedicated volunteers and advisers, including over 200 communities and individuals who campaign with us and provide assistance to people with planning problems. We were formed because the way we use and develop our land has a huge impact on people’s lives. Too often, planning processes do not enable meaningful democratic input into decision-making and development prioritises profit over people and the environment.
We campaign to rebalance power in planning so that citizens can better shape the way their environments change. We promote ways to enable civil society and the general public to understand and engage effectively with policy and decision making. We bring together individuals and communities to share information and provide support for each other. We carry out community-based research to provide a community perspective on the impacts and outcomes of planning and development. Read testimonials about our work here
MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to build a movement of citizens who value Scotland’s people, places and environment. Together we will campaign to ensure that decisions about how Scotland’s land is developed are fair, inclusive, locally accountable, and promote just outcomes driven by community needs rather than profit.
We believe the planning and development of Scotland’s land should:
- Deepen democratic control over the ways places and communities change
- Foster and value the contributions of citizen action and engagement, ensuring that people are listened to not left feeling alienated and confused
- Tackle the pressing crises of climate change and biodiversity,
- Promote environmentally just outcomes
- Put the needs of Scotland’s diverse citizens above private profits
- Value and enhance the quality of the built and natural environment ·
- Provide healthy and safe places for people to live.
GUIDES AND RESOURCES
GUIDE TO RESPONDING TO PLANNING APPLICATIONS, 2020
GUIDE TO PLANNING APPEALS, 2021
INFORMATION SHEET: JUDICIAL REVIEW AND CHALLENGING PLANNING DECISIONS, 2020
GUIDE ON SCOTLAND’S HOUSING CRISIS, 2021
PEOPLE’S PLAN
“We support the People’s Plan process as it recognises cross-cutting issues and the need to address them through a better, more democratic planning process that gives people real control over the ways their places change.”
GET INVOLVED
To find out more about Planning Democracy, check out our website
You can get in touch with us using the contact form there, or by emailing info@planningdemocracy.org.uk
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram