Wandsworth Council has accused community groups of being ‘NIMBYs’ after they wrote to David Cameron to complain about the borough’s planning procedures.

NIMBY, which stands for ‘not in my back yard’, is a pejorative term used to refer to people who oppose developments being carried out near them but do not object to them being carried out elsewhere.

The Putney Society, Clapham Junction Action Group, the Wandsworth Society and the Friends of Putney Common joined forces to write to the prime minister arguing the council’s planning procedures and localism practice had ‘failed’.

But a council spokesman hit back at the campaigners saying all the council's decisions were based on planning legislation.

He added: "It is always regrettable therefore that some people have a more NIMBYist approach and choose to hurl false and groundless allegations around when they don't get their own way."

The groups claim the council has committed ‘major failures’ in its planning procedures. They are asking for Mr Cameron to set up an urgent, independent review.

Their letter was accompanied by a 42-page dossier containing examples of when the council has fallen short in certain policy areas and guidelines such as affordable housing, children’s play-space and sustainability.

A spokesman for the community groups said: "Many residents have lost faith in the fairness and impartiality of the planning procedures used by Wandsworth Council.

"Our analysis of recent planning decisions makes damning reading.

"We hope that David Cameron, who has always supported localism personally and as Prime Minister, will respond to our appeal for an urgent review of what is going wrong in Wandsworth."

A spokesman for the council said planning decisions were made by ordinary local people who have to make hundreds of decisions each year having weighed up all the evidence and arguments.

He said: "The council has worked in partnership with organisations like the Putney and Wandsworth Societies for many years with the shared aim of creating a better borough for people to live and work in and we are proud of our record.

"Unfortunately this letter, and the evidence presented alongside it, is based on a skewed and wholly selective picture of the local planning system.

"All our decisions are based on planning legislation and we scrupulously follow our own local guidelines where these do not conflict with national planning rules."

Tell us what you think by writing to letters@wandsworthguardian.co.uk.


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