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2003 SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PLANNING AUDIT UNIT
FOREWORD
We are committed to modernising and reforming the planning system to make it work better for Scotland. Efficiency is a key component of a better planning system. Up-to-date plans and effective decision making are important for businesses and communities and can help to increase public confidence in the planning service.
We have been monitoring application determination rates closely since 1996 through the Planning Audit Unit. On the positive side there has been a slight increase in development control performance against a background of increasing applications. Some councils are committed to excellent development control performances, and it is encouraging to see that targets are met - and even exceeded - consistently in some areas.
But performance in other councils consistently falls below the targets in Scottish Planning Policy 1 The Planning System. These councils need to rise to the challenge, and improve their efficiency to match the best.
The audit process has lead to some significant performance improvements and I am delighted that some councils have responded so positively. But performance improvements need to be maintained over time and authorities that have undergone audit procedures should aspire to raise the general quality of their service. A culture of continuous improvement should be the norm not the exception.
The position on development plans is of particular concern. We cannot claim to be operating a plan-led system when almost 40% of local plans were adopted more than 10 years ago. Relevant and up-to-date development plans must be at the core of the system and that is why I attach particular importance to the consultation paper, Making Development Plans Deliver, which was published in April.
The Executive has set itself high standards in approving structure plans, and dealing with notified planning applications. Our approval times for structure plans has improved, and our casework performance continues to be good. Some casework targets were not, however, achieved. This was due mainly to the 2003 pre-election purdah period when it was inappropriate to issue decisions which may have been considered to be controversial.
The planning system and the planning profession have important roles to play in supporting the Executive's objectives in relation to economic development, social justice and environmental protection. Out-of-date development plans and a development-control process that is perceived as slow and inconsistent can frustrate these objectives. But development plans that provide certainty and opportunity form the basis for a responsive and confident approach to determining planning applications. That is the system which we must try, together, to create for the benefit of Scotland's land and people.
Margaret Curran, MSP
Minister for Communities
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