Fraudulent objections will add to the already vulnerable Northumberland position following the withd

Over recent months I have raised concerns about the level of planning application objections detected by the Councils Fraud Department.

Recently a local application in Amble had 40 objections 14 of which were identified as fraudulent, I am concerned that genuine objections are being diminished in value because of the actions of those who submit fraudulent objections. This isn’t the only case where planning applications have received a number of fake/fraudulent objections, its becoming ever more frequent across Northumberland and the UK. 

I have recently had a few cases where my constituents have either had their property used as an objecting address with false names and in one case using the property of recently deceased relative. This can cause major distress to residents who didn’t objected but have been listed as doing so or in extreme cases the use of property of deceased relatives obviously causes great distress. Vulnerable people receive letters relating to the objections made in the name of their property etc....and they have no idea what it's about. This causes major distress. 

NCC needs to act to ensure that a more robust system is put in place that allows the objections of communities to be hear without what can often be damaging additional comments from fake people. Planning Committees see the details of objections and numbers, how many of those that haven't been detected nobody knows. 

It is also the case I suspect that this can happen with letters and expressions of support too, the Council needs to robustly manage how they accept objections and support to ensure of the authenticity.

It is now more important than ever given the removal of the only protections Northumberland Communities had which was the Core Strategy, that communities are able to express their views. What we want to ensure is that communities are genuinely heard and not clouded by false objections. 

Now as we’ve seen many Land Agents are asking land bank developers to come forward as they recognise the vulnerabilities placed on communities, leaving the Council almost powerless to protect Communities. That’s why the planning department needs a structured approach to register objections and ensure that planners are supported in identifying fraudulent objections.

Many Communities will soon see many applications begin to be presented following the Conservatives desire to remove a document that took 10yrs to make in a cross party format. Yes disagreements about housing growth numbers thrust upon the County by Government were always a hot topic. However housing numbers can be altered through a modification process rather than whole scale removal.

I sincerely hope that the removal of the Core Strategy and the trend of increased fake / fraudulent objections does not make the perfect cocktail for a developers paradise riding roughshod over the top of communities.