Away in a manger just a crib for a bed,
It's all that you're getting the planners they said,
You can try all you like but your battle is lost,
You can sleep with the doggies surrounded by frost.

At the Local Review Body meeting in Perth on Tuesday the councillors upheld the planners decision to refuse permission to have a house on site. In spite of the fact that the dogs are unattended from 6pm to 8.30am. We are already trying again of course.
The meeting was interesting.
Councillor Gray, SNP went first and stated that,
with all our dogs, it was essential to have an on site house and totally unacceptable not to have one.
Councillor Campbell, Conservative, went second and very strongly disagreed asserting that there is no need for a house on site.
Chairman Lyle, also a Conservative, had the casting vote and agreed with his Conservative colleague that there was no need for a house.
Might the outcome have been different had the chairman been Labour/LibDem/Green ??
Anyway the outcome is that Celia will probably be spending her winter again in the kennels thanks to one Conservative chairman's opinion.
We went down with our first application for the self same reason. There cannot be any development in the ten year countryside plan UNLESS there is an operational need. They do not consider that 50 dogs left all night on their own is an operational need! BUT in Gairneybank 1 mile away there has just been planning permission granted for 7 houses. not in the ten year plan area obviously.
Ramifications, ---- who will travel to Baltree in the back of beyond when we are no longer alive? A manager's house would have been there for someone for posterity. A manager would have had a free house and an RGT backed wage. The thing is Baltree is a planning mess which can have holes ripped in it. Why are we the scapegoats?
We intend to apply yet again but we feel it is important that you follow our progress every step of the way and above all let your views be felt. We even ran a story in the Perthshire Advertiser highlighting our plight but the beaurocrats never turned a hair. We even pointed out that the house too would be bequeathed to GRF/RGT.
One would have thought planners were just voted in servants,, but we were not even allowed to speak at the meetings in case we were canvassing. Gonna end up with an old woman in a two berth caravan with no loo or washing facilities, roaring at the planners and the social services trying to cart her away from her beloved dogs. Can we absolutely stress that we have no intentions of closing GRF but you can all see future danger. Our application has been considered for a year now and still nobody cares about a large group of animals, except all of us. Let your feelings be known!
Celia and Jimmy.

do you have a link / address and i would be delighted to tell these idiots my opion on why you should be granted permission.
Have you gone to the national press?
Can we sumit a petition?
all of us are behind you, don`t give up hope.
love
Lynne

Ridiculous and nonsense situation with the planning...as lynne says above any way that we can help let us know and we can all do it cos it just all beggars belief!! There are a lot of us supporters now and so we can surely make some noise about the situation!! x

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the offer to help.
If you wish to complain you could email:
constituency@gordonbanksmp.co.uk Baltree MP.
Roseanna.Cunningham.msp@Scottish.Parliament.uk our MSP
DevelopmentManagement@pkc.gov.uk the planners.
The sequence of events is as follows, a lot of it is repetative but gives you the whole story, you can choose anything from it:
We applied in January 2011 for planning approval. It was turned down on the grounds that there was no operational need. This , even though our dogs are unattended from 6pm till 8.30am daily !!
We made an appeal to Perth and Kinross Local Review Body and they sent a panel of three councillors on a site visit to the kennels to see the need, on 22nd November. They met to decide the outcome on 29th November.
The first councillor Mr. Gray, SNP had no doubts whatsoever that 50 dogs left every night on theirown was an operational need. He voted strongly for us.
The second councillor Mr Campbell, conservative, was of the opposite view and deemed we did not require house, though his main objection seemed to be on the shape of the house rathr than the need !!
Chairman Mr Lyle, also a conservative agreed wih his fellow conservative.
Consequently we lost 2-1 on the vote.
Should the panel not be made up of three different party members ?
This was all in spite of the fact that we were tying the house, legally, along with the property so that it could not be sold for profit. This was not raised at the meeting by their planning adviser WHY NOT ? This is a major reason for us getting the house. We could not reply since we are not allowed to talk to the panel - even at the site visit.
We cannot go any further on this application - there is no legal recall.
We must now reapply with a different set of conditions.
The dogs must again be left unattended for another winter unless Celia again takes her sleeping bag into the kennels.
The Council have Also neglected to consider the fact that we are not just a greyhound rescue - we are a free facility enjoyed by many groups of people, such as, school children, people with difficulties, youngsters doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, people getting work experience that helps them get employed, people doing animal work, volunteers, even Edinburgh University Dick Vet College.
Without a house, when we die, we fear that the facility, which we have spent a fortune setting up for dogs and Perth and Kinross community, will die.
Small footnote, Perth and Kinross Council s responsible for maintaining standards of animal health. - THAT'S WHAT THEY SAY !
Any help would be most welcome.
Thank you,
Celia and Jimmy.

Look up today's Perthshire Advertiser and under local news read " Dog saviours damned by PKC panel ".

Please Click On The Link Below To Read The Article In The Perthshire Advertiser.

Dog saviours damned by PKC panel in Perthshire Advertiser

We are totally appalled. We will be sending emails. I have also posted a link to the Perthshire Advertiser Article on Facebook. I am also going to email friends and family and ask them if they will write emails on your behalf.
Would RGT be prepared to email on your behalf?
Perhaps this article needs to go to other papers, like national papers or at least The Scotsman. Would STV be prepared to put something on their news - after all you have been on their programmes before - the more people we can get to support you, the more chance there would be of future applications being considered favourably. I dont know much about planning applications, but this is totally ludicrous when new houses are being built all over the place. Anyone know Alex Salmonds email address?

We are totally appauled by this decision, and it stinks of political undertones. No wonder the conservatives are not popular in Scotland, and if they carry on like this they never will be.Rest assured we shall E Mail the addresses you both highlighted, and would encourage all hound owners to do the same.Keep up the good work, and we hope to see you both on Sunday weather permitting.....John & Janice

We are also disgusted and upset by this decsion. Will definately send the emails.

Don't give up though. Anything we can do please just get in contact with us.

Elaine & Steven

cant bleive this ridiculous outrage-have sent link to all my facebook buddies-the Clans are on the march again!!Also will be lobbying our MSP who we know v well-keep going everyone it will happen love HX

Please everyone. On Celia and Jimmy's behalf, please spread the word and get as many people as possible to write these emails. The more noise we can make over this stupid decision the better. If we all stick together and make some "noise" then they have to listen.

I am also going to email Alex Salmond - its worth a try.
His email address is alex.salmond.msp@scottish.parliament.uk
Kaz, Pat and Ace

Hi Celia, Jimmy and all suppporters

I have today emailed the three PKC councillors involved in your Planning Application. I have written to Mr Gray thanking him for his support and written to Councillors Campbell and Lyle expressing my disappointment in their rejection of your application.
Before contacting Roseanne Cunningham and Gordon Banks can I ask to what extent they are aware of your Planning Application and its rejection.

Also many thanks to everyone for making yesterday's walk and party such a success.

AJ+B

I have just spoken with a colleague in our corporate comms department to get some ideas on how to apply pressure on the councillors. They suggested that we need to make as much noise as possible before re-election in May. As well as trying to get the story picked up in the press they have suggested that we set up a dedicated page on Facebook to lobby our position and also something on Twitter. Does anyone know how to do this as it would create another media stream to raise awareness and get support?

Ok Ive emailed everyone previously listed (altho Alex Salmond one seems to be for his Aberdeen constituency rather than a countrywide one?)...what can I do now??I don't know enough about social media to help with the pages etc but I will endeavour to somehow link the newspaper article onto my facebook page. Just shout if there is anything else can be done we have to make sure that people are aware of whats happening! Big hugs to Celia and Jimmy too this must just be so stressful for you both xx

I think it is worthy of trying to email your 3 Labour MSPs: Richard.Simpson.msp@scottish.parliament.uk, Claire Baker and John.Park. The email addresses are the same only add msp@scottish.parliament.uk. The Tories and Labour are political opponents and that may help. Lets get The Labour involved they should have a say as well. That decision was wrong, heartless and detrimental not for Jimmy and Celia but first of all for the wellbeing of retired ex-raced greyhounds. I think that the racing industry should get involved in the protest as well. Celia and Jimmy are role models for the younger generations and want to sacrifice all what they posses to rescuing the poor 4 legged creatures. The planners (conservative) seem to have been blind and very narrow-minded.
As a foreigner I have nothing to say and I am going to be gnored in this country but you live there and your protest should be noticed by the society.
It may be worth to try to print some leaflets and spread around. The more you do the more you may achieve.

If noone has set up a page yet on Facebook I'd be prepared to do it.
What should it be called?

Michele

There is an exisiting Greyhound Rescue Fife facebook page - could that be used?

Meanwhile, when will the amended planning permission request be submitted? At this stage all we can do is vent our frustration to the various politicians, but when the next application goes in we can contact them en-masse to get them to support us and the planning application. My local MP [labour] has advised me the following;

It is probably best speaking to the MP/MSP who covers the geographical area for which the planning application applies.

An MP/MSP making a representation on a planning application carries the same weight as any other individual. However, if the MP/MSP is making a representation on behalf of several constituents or a whole community then obviously this would tend to carry greater weight.

He did go on to say that It really depends on the circumstance and, in the final analysis, a local authority planning committee can only take a decision on a planning application based on material planning considerations. He has suggested that we contact Gordon Burns MP [also labour]

I wrote to Alex Salmond yesterday, in what I hope is a fine Italic
hand (it should catch the eye). I said that Scotland should be proud
of such special, dedicated, selfless people as Celia and Jimmy. That
there is an obvious need for 50 disdained and rejected hounds to
be supervised over night, which Councillor Grey had no trouble
recognising, but his two colleagues failed to see. And, at this time
of year, he could show compassion.
It may get us nowhere, but it is a start.
We need to express our frustration outside the confines of this Forum. Try the Scottish Daily Mail. They like causes and might
see dogs as a winner with the public. The Scotsman might help. Hammer the MPs/MSPs with emails. Set up a petition and organize a Greyhound Assembly out side that obnoxious Building in Edinburgh. We could stop the traffic, by taking our sleeping bags and placards
saying, "This is what P & K planning Dept. expect Celia to do in the
winter.

Thanks for all your wonderful help folks but we must keep it going or they'll think that they are off the hook.
If the planning department receive enough letters of protest we believe that they have to investigate.
Celia and Jimmy.

and copied directly from the council's own website.........
"Perth & Kinross Council has a moral and legal responsibility to ensure the welfare of all captive and domestic animals, and all wild animals in so far that its activities impinge upon them. The Council promotes the responsible ownership of pets, and high standards of animal welfare and husbandry at licensed premises, on farms, during transport, and at livestock markets"

Really????????????????

michele

Thanks for posting your reply Alan. Someone suggested to me building an eco-lodge with attached "school room" to run educational visits on animal care etc. I wonder if this would be anymore acceptable to the council?

Michele