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03:
Executive Summary
This White Paper sets out the
way forward for Scotland's planning system. It recognises
the central role of planning in the delivery of a
sustainable pattern of economic growth, supported by
essential new homes, infrastructure and community
facilities, whilst protecting our most important natural
assets. It also responds to the need for improved
opportunities for meaningful public involvement in the
planning system, and for that involvement to occur at the
right point in the system to be able to influence
outcomes.
The proposals for modernisation:
- place development plans firmly at the heart of the
system, to ensure that development takes place in the
context of a long-term and inclusive vision for the
future;
- ensure that the planning system is fit for purpose,
and able to respond to different types of development
proposals in the most appropriate way;
- encourage greater efficiency in development plan
preparation and the determination of planning
applications;
- make it easier for people to get involved in
planning, and help to shape the future of their
communities; and
- recognise planning's role in delivering sustainable
development.
To make the planning system
fit for purpose, we will introduce a new
hierarchy into the planning system, so that we are able to
plan effectively for a range of different types of
development, and respond appropriately to applications
according to their size and impact. Proposals include:
- establishing the National Planning Framework as an
instrument for securing the delivery of national
policies and programmes;
- introducing a new process for the determination of
applications for developments of national strategic
importance (called national developments);
- introducing new procedures for the determination of
applications for a range of key large-scale development
proposals including housing and economic development
(called major developments);
- introducing new procedures for the majority of
planning applications (called local developments) which
are of local importance to allow determination and
appeals to be handled at a local level; and
- reviewing the extent to which applications for very
small-scale development proposals (called minor
developments) can be removed from the scope of the
planning system altogether.
To make the planning system
more efficient, we will introduce a range of
new requirements in development planning to make the
production of plans quicker, more predictable, more
accessible and responsive to views of local people. We will
also expect plans to be simpler documents that provide a
clear vision of how our settlements and rural areas should
evolve. They must take a long-term view, identify
sufficient land to meet the key needs of economic growth
and housing development and protect important natural and
built heritage resources. They will be the core documents
against which planning applications will be measured for
determination. Proposals include:
- introducing a statutory requirement to update
development plans every five years;
- moving to a single tier of local development plans
everywhere apart from the four largest city regions;
and
- introducing a requirement for one proposed plan,
replacing the present system of consultative and
finalised drafts.
Efficiency measures will also extend to the management
of applications for development, where we have set out a
range of proposals, including:
- introducing measures to encourage greater use of
e-planning;
- improving the way in which planning agreements are
used;
- introducing standard planning application forms;
and
- reducing the time limit within which an appeal can
be submitted, following refusal of an application, from
six months to three months.
To make the planning system
more inclusive, we will introduce a wide range
of measures designed to ensure a transparent and fair
planning system, that will give local people confidence
that their views have been properly considered as part of
the decision-making process. We will also publish a new
Planning Advice Note which will identify best practice in
involving local people in planning decisions. We
propose:
- introducing new statutory requirements for
pre-application consultations;
- introducing new procedures to ensure wide public
participation in the formulation of development plans,
including notification of key development proposals to
neighbours;
- transferring responsibility for neighbour
notification on planning applications to the planning
authorities, to improve public confidence;
- requiring more frequent use of hearings, allowing
local people to present their views on planning
applications before they are determined;
- introducing new procedures to assess whether local
people have been engaged effectively in the development
plan process, and in the processing of applications
called in for determination by Scottish Ministers;
- introducing procedures to subject applications that
do not accord with the development plan to enhanced
levels of scrutiny;
- introducing a new requirement for planning
authorities to give reasons for their decisions, and
notify individuals who have made representations when
decisions are taken.
We will reform the appeals system to create a greater
sense of equality by:
- introducing early determination of appeals that are
not well founded - for instance where they fail to
address the reasons for refusal, or are against refusal
of a proposal which does not accord with the
development plan; and
- introducing new procedures that ensure an appeal is
a review of the decision taken in light of the
information submitted, limiting the right to introduce
new evidence to support the appeal.
We will also encourage the effective use of existing
enforcement powers and introduce amendments to enable
better monitoring of conditions attached to planning
permission, to create greater confidence and a wider sense
of fairness in enforcement activity.
The planning system must also play its part in ensuring
that development is
sustainable. Sustainable development will
be promoted by:
- using Strategic Environmental Assessments to
improve the way in which the environmental consequences
of decision-making are addressed, and to enhance the
levels of transparency in policy-making;
- recognising the need for development plans to
respond to requirements to meet our wider environmental
obligations at European and international level;
- incorporating changes to the Environmental Impact
Assessment legislation that will make it easier for
local people to participate in the decision-making
process; and
- striving for high quality design in all new
development.
The reforms proposed amount to a modernisation of the
planning system. This modernisation will require a
considerable change in the culture of planning and will
place significant demands on those responsible for its
implementation - particularly planning authorities. It will
be essential to introduce a framework that promotes an
improvement in the performance of the planning system. This
framework will include:
- an enhanced system of audit for planning
authorities, designed to identify and promote good
practice;
- powers for Ministers to address areas where
performance does not meet requirements; and
- support for planning authorities, through the
Planning Development Budget and other means, to improve
the capacity of the system to take on the necessary
changes.
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