These initial changes are more lenient than the guidelines currently in use, but during the review process objections were made by two development companies and the Crown Estate, who all felt that the guidelines were not lenient enough.

Two individuals also objected – one wishing for harsher guidelines and another who made a valid point about boundaries. I did not object at this point because, in my naivety, I had assumed that the Local Plan review only concerned settlements, and not planning policies as well.

Following negotiations with the two development companies, the council has proposed a new set of even more lenient guidelines, and these are the guidelines which the Scottish Government Reporter suggests are adopted as the new Local Plan.

I feel that the newer guidelines have been drawn up entirely in favour of the developers and have changed the emphasis of the Local Plan from protecting our open countryside to a policy of protecting the nature of housing in the open countryside.

I urge councillors to read both the April, 2007, proposals and the re-worded policies. I am in favour of retaining the current guidelines, although I realise this is unlikely. My particular concerns about the re-worded policies are as follows:

1. I know that the new proposals will make it far easier for developers to create large clusters of housing in very rural environments. We could see rows of houses along every country lane and homes in the corner of every field. There is nothing to prevent against ribbon developments and nothing to prevent large clusters of housing. Accumulations of housing should be restricted to communities – not the open countryside.

2. There is a great deal of difference between ensuring that a house is not "prominent" and ensuring that it is not "overtly prominent". If a house is not "overtly prominent" then it may be described as simply "prominent". Surely we want to prevent our countryside from being littered with prominent housing?

3. A house with a ridge height of 7m is described as a "one-and-a-half" storey house; i.e. one with the bedrooms in the roof space, a very traditional and local style. If there are no restrictions on ridge height we will see the proliferation of large "building estate" style houses in the countryside. At the very least, we should ensure that a new house is of similar style and height as its neighbour.

I realise that as the Local Plan review draws to a close it would be much easier to adopt the advice of the Reporter. However, I feel that the "devil is in the detail" and we all have a duty to scrutinise the recommendations. I am well aware that our local development companies, and land owners, all have plans to submit which could change the nature of my neighbourhood, and the rest of Moray. – Yours etc,

Angela Mitchell, Sonas, Todholes, Dallas.

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