A GREEN MSP has hit out at the SNP for rejecting proposals to give communities the right to appeal planning decisions.

Ross Greer said the government had “sold local communities short” when they relied on Tory votes to weaken the Planning Bill.

The Greens opposed moves in June stripping out amendments giving rights to communities instead of developers, who currently are the only parties who can appeal planning decisions.

But Clydebank MSP Gil Paterson fired back and said the Greens had “cheek” to blame the Scottish Government for not building enough homes and improving the planning process.

Mr Greer said the current rules mean a developer can appeal to the government even if all councillors were to reject an application. If a plan for new homes was approved, residents wouldn’t have the same right to question it.

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This led to a campaign for an “equal right of appeal” for the new Planning Bill. Though there was progress on air pollution, forestry, public toilets and water refill points, Mr Greer said the overall bill hands too much power to ministers in Edinburgh.

He said: “This SNP-Tory stitch-up is a real blow for local communities in Clydebank who will be left almost powerless against a planning system that’s more centralised than ever and which continues to put property speculators, landowners and big business first.

“This Planning Bill should have been a chance for change, making sure that developments which are clearly against the interests of communities could be properly challenged. Instead, due to SNP and Tory collaboration, the deck is still stacked in favour of developers.

“The SNP had a clear choice. They could have held to the spirit of cross-party working which we were all committed to at earlier stages, but instead they decided to stitch the whole thing up with Tory votes.

“While the Greens pushed hard and secured some positives, it’s deeply disappointing that the final outcome is a new era of SNP centralisation, leaving communities well and truly frozen out. Our communities and all those who care about their local environments deserved so much better.”

But Mr Paterson said there are objections to almost every housing development while there is a “dire shortage” of housing, especially social rented homes.

He told the Post: “Each day, and I mean each day, there are large numbers of individuals and families demanding either a first-time home or a new house.

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“When it comes to council houses, the numbers still fall dramatically short of the demand.

“The changes to the planning law seek a balance that stops the inappropriate plans which have happened in the past with the need to provide decent houses for our communities.

“We are fortunate in Clydebank with the developments on Queens Quay and the old St Andrew’s site, to mention two significant sites which will help the situation.

“But even this just scratches the surface of the housing shortages which was caused by both a Tory government followed on by a Labour government continuing to sell tens of thousands of social and council houses without building news ones. We are now living with the consequences.”

Mr Paterson added: “Incidentally, no country in the UK includes third party right of appeal in their planning process and the independent planning review panel recommended against including it in planning law.”