Editor,

I’m writing to highlight that the Local Government Election on 5 May is a good moment for us to to question Ceredigion County Council’s historic approach to making planning decisions.

The recent report by Audit Wales showed that Ceredigion is the worst Council in Wales for making planning decisions that go against it’s own policy, against government policy and against the advice of it’s own professional Planning Officers.It states that in Ceredigion County Council Planning Control Department: “Longstanding weaknesses remain in relation to positive enforcement action and the high number of member decisions contrary to professional officer advice”

In fact Ceredigion did worse that any other county in Wales in this respect, with an average of more than 60 per cent of planning decisions during the previous 10 years going against what the Planning Officer had recommended in their report to the Control Committee. This means that professional, expert advice was ignored in favour of members’ own values and opinions.

Now is our chance to make a change. We can ask candidates and explain our concerns to them about any matter, including this one. We can write to them, to the newspapers, use social media and talk to each other about the vital issues which shape the future experience of living in this fantastic county of Ceredigion.

When I vote for someone I want to know that they are going to be making the best decisions based on the legal, democratic and informed framework available to them.

Linda Denton, Talybont