John Chalmers, chairman of South Hams Society, Croft Road, Salcombe, writes:

Many of your readers must agree with the recent letters about the South Hams Council's performance as the Local Planning Authority. They include inadequate consultation, inefficiency in dealing with applications and lack of accountability of councillors.

Consultation should actively involve the community from the first moves to the last. The Localism Act makes this clear. Instead our council makes decisions internally and then conducts a nominal process of consultation on its website when it is too late to revise them to any degree.

For example, when selecting housing and employment sites in 2010 despite 'community consultation' the council's planners were proud of the fact that they only made one change to the scores of sites involved.

Despite some improvements this attitude still rules. Recently I wrote to the council asking for information on their plans to implement the national planning policy framework. After 5 weeks and a reminder, I was told that I was correct in assuming that they were conducting a new housing needs survey.

But the electorate has not been told of the intention to conduct a survey which could result in fundamental changes to planning policy. Still less was there any suggestion that contributions to the conduct of the survey might be sought from outside the council.

It's no wonder that the residents of the South Hams are apathetic about commenting on the council's plans. They don't believe that their comments will make the slightest difference.

As for inefficiency within the council, the paper has told us of two recent incorrect decisions regarding wind turbines that have cost us tens of thousands of pounds of public money. There is no policy on wind turbines. The distinction between agriculture and use of land for horses has never been clarified. The information on planning applications on the council's website contains an increasing number of errors and omissions and little attempt is made to correct them even when they are pointed out.

Many councillors seem to ignore the damage inflicted by developments in area of outstanding natural beauty despite legislation which protects it to the same degree as a National Park. Large agricultural buildings and wind turbines on skyline sites in the AONB have been approved despite the protests of residents. There is no attempt by councillors to encourage their planners to negotiate less damaging sites for them.

Finally, of course councillors should be called to account by their electorate for their voting records. This is a democratic right and they should not be able to hide behind a corporate decision.

It is often said that the electorate get the government they deserve. Let us show our council that we deserve better.