QIMBY
We’ve had a very busy time recently, trying out a new acronym. Thankfully, someone has reinvented the Nimby and members of Terroir South have recently been part of a team fighting for ‘Quality in My Back Yard’.
As Europeans we are very fortunate to live in countries which practice democracy in one form or another. We can ‘have our say’ or, in other words, attempt to influence who governs us or who gets planning permission to build in our back yards.
Sitting through a planning inquiry as a local resident gives you plenty of time to think about how we manage our democracy. Is it fair? Is it accessible? Is it easy to understand? Not really. Is it possible to make your voice heard? Yes, if you have time and are good at organising your community. How we vote at national and local elections depends a lot on how our local community canvasses for its favourite representatives. It also depends on how we perceive tactical voting or whether we attend the local hustings.
In simplistic terms, what gets built in our back yards is mostly down to our local democracy. Of course we can say what we think about planning applications - if we understand how the system works. We can read about the proposal on the local authority website, submit written comments and, if it’s a big one, there will probably be consultation meetings open to the public or targeted at specific local community organisations. The final decision is taken by a planning committee made up of elected local councillors. Wishing you had voted differently at election time? It’s too late now.
If planning permission is refused, the applicant can register an appeal against the decision. Is it possible to participate in the process? Yes, if you have money. Is it adversarial? Yes, very. So it’s like a trial at the Old Bailey? Pretty much, as it involves legal representatives battling it out in front of a ‘judge’. The main difference is that, if that inappropriate development finally gets the go ahead, despite your best efforts, you’re stuck with it. You can’t apply for parole and have it pulled down on the basis of good behaviour. You can vote out a government or a local council, but your building will stay until someone realises it is full of asbestos, or crumbling concrete, or decides to redevelop the site.
On the other hand, a local community group can get involved in the process to influence the local landscape. It involves a huge amount of time and effort and, yes, that undemocratic commodity – money (thank goodness for crowd funding). Under the present system, if you really want to make an impact, you hire a barrister and a team of specialists to fight on your behalf.
© RRAG
One of us has seen a few planning inquiries from the inside but, as an ‘expert witness’, you give your evidence, you get cross examined and you leave. No one is going to pay you to sit in the back to watch it play out. So for one of us, watching the whole thing from beginning to end was a new experience – exciting, frustrating, nerve racking, infuriating and, at times, very boring!
Like any other court of law it is very formulaic in process but, thankfully, somewhat less anachronistic than the much older institution of criminal law. The ’judge’ is called an ‘inspector’ but you are still required to call her or him Ma’am or Sir. As an aside, we’ve heard this title pronounced Ma’am (long ‘a’), M’am (rhyming with ‘jam) and Madam over the last few days. It doesn’t matter but it is bizarre. Barristers don’t wear wigs (but that doesn’t make the cross examination any less scary) and gowns are replaced by standard business attire.
With three teams of barristers and their entourages, the time allocated for our recent inquiry was insufficient and we reconvene in November. So it looks like no outcome until early 2026. Time and money is essential in this game.
And sorry about the lack of pictures.