Planning Issues (Balfour Beatty)

[RHannah]

I’m in my final year at Dundee University studying Town and Regional Planning and it is dissertation time. I've chosen to do my dissertation on Public Participation in major Engineering Projects with my dissertation aim being to "Assess the adequacy of the consultation with the public which takes place when bringing formal large projects into development". I think everyone is aware that there has been some major works done on Seil recently and I was looking for some opinions on how the council has handled the project. Does anyone think there is a suitable alternative? Should there have been more consultation with locals and the community council? Or is it a necessity to stop raw waste being dumped into our sea and there is no alternative.

Thanks
Robert

[MonaLott]

Hi Robert, welcome to the forum and good luck with the dissertation and degree. Maybe it would be useful if you could devise a short questionnaire and post it on the site as an attachment that we could complete for you. NickB could probably advise on how best to do that. Anyway, I'll start the response here just to get things going. I think I'm in a minority, probably a vanishingly small one, but I have felt quite properly and adequately consulted in the run-up to and operation of this project. There were public meetings, many letters and approvals from/with Scottish Water, plenty of on-site visits by the project managers and lots of time to think about the pros and cons plus clear contact info for chasing up concerns and seeking info. The only other general comment is that, for me at least, there was absolutely no input or involvement whatsoever by the local authority. I have always taken the view that a modern sewage treatment system on Seil was a huge desirable if not a requirement and we all just hope that it works when it's finished and that we aren't left with a huge mess environmentally. I have an optimistic expectation. Most around here seem not to share it!

[NickB]

Hi Robert,

I think to a certain extent Mona is right. There was consultation, meetings were held and plans were available, but I think too many of us didn't get involved early enough. We just assumed that the powers that be knew what they were doing. Certain matters were taken on trust - the repair and reinstatement of the road being an example - and when such unwritten agreements break down it is the local community that is left in the lurch.

As a more specific comment the plans themselves for the pumping stations were very difficult to read for the layman and no artists impressons or side elevations were provided, only top-down views . If we had had a clearer picture of how the pumping stations were going to look we might have ended up with smaller switchgear cupboards apart from anything else.

As regards options - if the water in Seil Sound was of poor quality then a town-type sewage scheme was not the only answer, but it appears to have been the only one that was considered. The decision was very much determined by the agendas of outside organisations IMO, not by the real needs of the community and the local environment - but then it is always so nowadays. With less than 2% of us living in rural communities our votes are insignificant.

My advice to any local community facing a similar project would be to get as many people as possible involved, and to work out in advance what ALL the implications for the community might be. Ask questions and do not go away until you have satisfactory and specific answers to each and every one of them.

As regards doing a survey, I suggest setting up an account with SurveyMonkey - it's free and allows you to set up quite complex online surveys. All you then have to do in a forum post is link to your survey.

[RHannah]

Thanks for your posts. Part of my dissertation is to see if residents dont know enough about the planning system and only get involved when something happens in their "back yard", usually too late when the construction starts and they realise the extent of the works. I thought this would be a good place to get some initial opinions before I did my interviews/questionairs and Im glad to see that there is some people who are in favour of the scheme so i can get both sides of the argument from a local perspective. Cheers for the SurveyMonkey link it looks pretty good. Hopefully there will be more posts on this issue.

Thanks
Robert

[reality_check]

Hi Robert,
Good luck at Uni. Well there is much more than meets the eye. In my humble opinion the cost of the overall project which changes every time one talks to BB is way too much for the benefits. We always talk about climate change etc but this system uses electricity (not so good). Adrian Laycock an engineer (and a very clever one) from Easdale Island could easily have designed several systems to take care of our sewage. At probably 10% of the cost.
The questions now are how much will this system cost to maintain? Who will foot that bill? Is the overall condition of the road outwith the areas BB been digging up to be repaired and brought back to a reasonable standard by the contractor. All this heavy traffic and machinery has surely taken it's toll on our small roads. Who is to say to them everything is in order and you may leave the Island now? I see them piling loads of tar on the road raising the hight by 6 inches in some places what will they do now that they have changed the camber of the roads and flooding is no occuring at areas where it never did. I know of many people who have been to see them for reassurances and told one thing then they go ahead and so what they want anyway. This is not finished by a longshot. Thanks you for giving me an oportunity to add.
In short the consultation process, this has and always will be flawed as they will tell you ANYTHING in order to start the ball rolling and to hell with what happens after that. Much like governments.

[robertfan]

Hi Robert!
Good luck with uni and the dissertation. I think you are raising some valid points and it would be a great idea to get a questionnaire up so we can all have our say, I look forward to having input in your dissertation.

Love you, bye
x