Neilston Community Council secretary Jim Sheriff is the latest person to express his opposition to the council’s decision to stop publishing planning representations online.

The move, approved in December last year, means members of the public are unable to view objections to planning applications without physically attending the council’s offices.

Mr Sheriff argues that even attending in person is not as easy as it sounds, after his experience of visiting the council’s offices became “farcical”.

Speaking to The News, Mr Sheriff said: “Given the fact that there has been some discussion on the removal of representations to planning applications online, I visited the planning department to view the representations in an attempt to verify or not the rumours about access.

“Initially I was given just the applications, and when asking again about representations I was told that an appointment would need to be made since all the documents would need to be printed out.” He was informed that the documents were available to planners and officials on the council’s internal intranet system but needed to be printed out if a member of the public wanted to inspect them.

In the end he was given access to the representations for the four planning applications he requested but he said it was a laborious process that adds weight to the view the new arrangements are contrary to an open and transparent system.

Mr Sheriff’s comments follow criticism of a report that was presented to councillors encouraging them to approve the proposed changes.

The report stated that around half of the councils in Scotland took the measure to remove objections.

However, Uplawmoor campaigner Aileen Jackson has obtained figures that indicate only nine local authorities, including ERC, have taken the same step.

We also previously reported that Conservative Cllr Stewart Miller abstained from voting on a crucial planning decision because he too had experienced difficulty in accessing information.

The move has also been described as “undemocratic” and “discriminatory” by John Scott, chairman of Neilston Community Council and in a letter published in this week’s News Fiona Clark, from the East Renfrewshire Green party also raised serious concerns about the potential impact it could having on communities throughout the county.

She wrote: “For towns all across the region, our Council’s handling of planning issues has long been a source of real concern. If ERC’s new procedures now mean those in Cllr Miller’s position cannot make qualified decisions, then how can any member of the public have faith in local democracy, let alone engage with the processes most directly affecting their lives?” Reflecting on his recent visit to the council’s planning department, Mr Sheriff continued: “However, although it was possible to view the data, it is a major disadvantage not to be able to use it in terms of being able to look back at data where there may be issues that occur after looking at other references.” He also formed the opinion that he may have been given information that is sensitive under the Data Protection Act because the documents he saw were unredacted.

He continued: “There is a definite disadvantage to viewers and other respondents in not having easy access to the planning data.

“Since there have been no estimated cost savings figures tabled and you can see the unredacted information, which may be a breach of the Data Protection Act.

“This is a retrograde step and is not undertaken by a majority of Local authorities as stated in the original officers submission to councillors.” A spokesperson for East Renfrewshire Council said: “We take off personal email addresses, phone numbers and signatures but not business contact details. If anyone has an issue with information on their representation we will remove it straight away.”