Planning Democracy campaigns for a fair and inclusive planning system in Scotland.  The charity will hold its conference, 'Planning: The People's Perspective' in Edinburgh on April 21.  Not content with inviting anyone with an interest in, or experience of, land use planning in Scotland to attend, P.D. hopes we will invite our elected representatives to become “keynote listeners” at the event and hear how those who experience the Scottish planning system first hand feel about it.

Clare Symonds, founder of Planning Democracy says of the conference:

“Scotland's planning system is weighted against ordinary people, the very people who will be affected and who should be able to influence it.  It is time to rebalance the system and give people more rights and to make it far more inclusive than it is. This conference intends to show how ordinary people experience the planning system and to gather people together to work together to make it fairer.”

At the conference you will

• hear how well the planning system works for ordinary people,
• hear Planning Democracy’s views on how to campaign for a more inclusive system
• hear other people's views on the planning system

You will have the opportunity to

• meet other people and exchange experiences of planning
• attend workshops on a variety of issues from access to justice, planning appeals, to making complaints and Freedom of Information
• work with Planning Democracy to campaign for change where it is needed.

The conference is affordable (£10) and is held on a Saturday in central Edinburgh, close to the train and bus stations. Refreshments and lunch are included in the price.

Representatives from organisations such as The Information Commission, the Public Services Ombudsman, the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) as well as legal firms and environmental NGO's such as Friends of the Earth  will be attending and providing afternoon workshops.

For more information follow this link.