Planning Democracy (Scottish Charity SC041051)

[seanie]

[seanie]

The link from my original post still seems to work, but when I tried to find it as a case study via the today it didn't work. I got this instead;

Compared to this;

Maybe maintenance or something but nevermind.

[seanie]

[seanie]

There have been a couple of changes in circumstances since than which I'll clarify shortly...

[seanie]

Firstly, since that post, Scottish courts have started to issue restricted cost orders that can limit the liabilities of both sides to the other. You may still need to raise a significant sum to secure against losing but at least you can now have an upper limit.

Secondly, after years of apparent inaction, PPAG have in the last few weeks started to raise funds for a legal action in earnest. Whilst there is still no legal action as such, I'd imagine the Council might be more aware of it as a possibility than they were back then.

But apart from that I wouldn't alter much.

[seanie]

I also submitted a comment via the contact point on the Planning Democracy website, complaining about their description of the issue on their website. I didn't receive a response, which is probably fair enough given they didn't know me from Adam but, it still niggled.

So I looked again at the website and noticed that, whilst a key concern of this charity was openess and transparency, there wasn't actually much information about their organisation. Nothing wrong with that in itself, you need to prioritise the information on any website afterall. But I was also curious as to whether there might be a Portobello connection with the charity.

[seanie]

[seanie]

[seanie]

[seanie]

[seanie]

[seanie]

And today I received an e-mail that finally satisfied that little niggle that had been in my head since September last year; who are Planning Democracy and is there a Portobello connection?

[Porty]

And there's no Portobello connectiom?

I clicked on "case studies" and could go no further without a password.

[seanie]

[Porty]

Lack of transparency, totally resistant to transparency, don't want people to know who they are, no accounts- now i can see the portobello connection. Presumably "Planning Democracy" is a charitable conduit for transferring funds between one cause and another.

Seven falsehoods and quite a few are out and out lies. Still, PPAG only been lying to a charity and not handing them out at schools, so I guess PPAG are squeaky on this one. NOT!!!

Sean, have you written to the trustees to put them straight?

[Bob Jefferson]

So you didn't get a statement of account? I wonder what kind of funds they have at their disposal and whether they could make a significant contribution to PPAG's war-chest? Then again, would they want to blow it on a hopeless cause? As an idea, 'planning democracy' certainly sounds very worthy but if this group is prepared to back PPAG then their credibility is called into question.

[Bob Jefferson]

The Portobello Park 'case study' has been archived but can still be viewed at:

http://www.planningdemocracy.org.uk/archives/37

[seanie]

They've provided all the information requested including a statement of account. There's no annual report because of the time they've been up and running. So they've done nothing wrong apart from possibly being a bit tardy.

[Porty]

Agreed, they are complying with requirements for charity registration. Could be quite a neat trick; PCATS might claim they have not given their residual funds (£3k +) to PPAG They could give the money to Planning Democracy who then pass it to PPAG. All could be achieved during the AD break in Corrie. "stick the kettle on, and I'll have the money ready when you get back"

So parents who donated and supported PCATS could find their cash being used to fight a court case against the school. Given what they get up to in public. Who knows what they doing behind the scenes?

[Porty]

A retraction; I am coming under a bit of pressure to rectify something I said above, which may have been interpreted as a besmirch. Apparently the parties concerned do not watch Coronation Street.

[wangi]

[fresian]

This actually stinks worse than Seafield. I wonder when this was set up? and for what purpose? i.e will it disappear once the high school issue has been finalised.

[seanie]

Remember it's party time at the next Community Council meeting. So come along and meet your Community Councillors, and enjoy a festive nibble.

[seashell]

WHy are they making this presentation?
Is it because PCC has such a terrible record as regards their biased interfering on planning applications?

[Porty]

How did the presentation go?

[wangi]

It didn't. Clare Symonds sent her apologies - ill.

[Porty]

[seanie]

Just came across a bizarre coincidence.

There's a letter in the Evening News today, standard PPAG/BIOB stuff, from a Clare Kyndt. Now I'm familiar with a fair number the names of people who've involved themselves in the issue, but that one was new to me. It's also a surname I'd never heard before so, out of idle curiosity I Googled the name.

Sure enough it's not common. It only came up with one person with that name, living down in Devon rather than Edinburgh. But here's the odd thing. Purely by chance, 7th in the Google ranking came a hit for Clare Symonds, Chair of Planning Democracy.

There's no apparent connection. It would seem to be an entirely random result thrown up by Google.

[Porty]

That is a coincidence. The same thing happened on my PC, which suggests it is not exclusive to yours.

One may have expected more famous Clare's to appear higher in the search. Clare Balding for example. Although, not sure why Clare Balding would be writing to the EN about PHS?

[Porty]

I googled "symonds kyndt" and got:



A Clare Symonds and a Jerome Kyndt attended the same gardening training course at Venture Scotland back in 2011. I wouldn't read too mulch into it tho.

[Pal of Porty]

I don't belive in coincidences!

[Makaveli]

Well prepare to believe POP....

Both Jerome and Clare wrote on a couple of web pages within hours of each other too on the same subject with the same view point - like you say it is probably one of those incredible coincidences that life throws up now and again.

[fresian]

So not the Claire Simmons,(Different spelling but strangely similar) who lives with Mike Bridgeman

[Porty]

Is she a keen gardener?

[Franck]