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C: Context

49. This section provides an overview of the national policy context in which regional transport strategies will be developed. It focuses in particular on the links between transport and planning and between the national, regional and local transport strategies.

(i) Land-use planning - current situation

50. The National Planning Framework⁹ sets out the Executive's strategy for Scotland's long-term spatial development. Scottish Planning Policy 17 Planning for Transport¹⁰ ( SPP17) reinforces the Executive's commitment to the development of integrated land use and transport planning. SPP17 promotes an integrated approach to land use, economic development, social justice, transport and the environment.

51. The development plan system consists of structure plans and local plans covering the whole of Scotland and prepared by local authorities. These set out the land-use planning framework for safeguarding, managing and developing the strategic transport network. Each of these plans outlines the key development priorities for that particular area The upper-tier structure plan sets out a vision which looks forward at least 10 years but which should be comprehensively reviewed every 5 years. Lower-tier local plans provide the detailed framework against which decisions on planning applications are taken and should also be reviewed on no more than a 5-year cycle.

52. SPP17 requires that structure plans include a development strategy which is prepared in the full knowledge of transport network infrastructure and services, environmental and operational constraints, proposed or committed new transport projects and demand management schemes. So existing structure plans should already be well-informed by the transport situation in the structure plan area. Whilst most of these areas will be smaller than the transport regions, they will be important inputs to regional transport strategies.

53. These will be the arrangements in place when the first set of statutory regional transport strategies are drawn up. These first regional transport strategies should:

• reflect the national spatial priorities identified in the National Planning Framework (and, where relevant, the Regeneration Policy Statement);
• support the policies set out in SPP17; and
• be consistent with relevant current structure plans (and, depending on the level of detail, with local plans).

54. Joint working between transport and planning teams should be encouraged to ensure that closer integration between spatial and transport strategic planning is achieved. This is an iterative process which both local and regional levels of planning and transportation strategies should benefit from.

(ii) Land-use planning - proposed changes

55. Proposals for reforming development plans were set out in the white paper, Modernising the Planning System¹¹ published in June 2005. The Executive introduced legislation in December 2005 which will remove the current system of structure plans and local plans. In future, local development plans will replace local plans and cover all of Scotland. The intention is that each local authority and National Park Authority will be responsible for producing the local development plan for its area. This local development plan may cover the whole of the council's area or in the case of the larger councils may comprise a number of local development plans. In addition, an upper tier of strategic development plans will be required for the four city regions of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Joint working arrangements will be set up between the local authorities comprising these regions. The exact boundaries to be covered by strategic development plans will be agreed by the local authorities and approved by the Scottish Ministers.

56. Future regional transport strategies are likely to be drawn up once these development planning changes have been made and after the publication of the second National Planning Framework, which will be informed by the Strategic Projects Review and the Executive's Regeneration Policy Statement. The first regional transport strategies will be important inputs to the first round of strategic and local development plans and will help to inform the second National Planning Framework.

57. Transport strategy has to balance and integrate many varied and often competing demands. The development of the RTS should inform, be informed by, and integrate with other relevant strategies, policies, plans and activities. Other Scottish Executive policy documents set objectives and targets that are directly or indirectly relevant to transport. These include:

• The Scottish Planning Assessment (covering rail);
• The Executive's overall economic policy direction set out in Framework for Economic Development in Scotland ( FEDS) and Smart Successful Scotland;
• Specific transport targets set out in Building a Better Scotland and elsewhere ( e.g. national targets for cycling and the high-level aspirational target for road traffic reduction);
• The Regeneration Policy Statement;
• Sustainable development indicators in Choosing our Future the Scottish sustainable development strategy;
• Social inclusion objectives and targets from Closing the Opportunity Gap;
• The UK air quality strategy and forthcoming climate change programme, in relation to reducing emissions and adapting to impacts;
• The national physical activity strategy, Let's Make Scotland More Active.

58. More details on these and other plans and the targets they contain, including where they can be found, is attached at Annex E. RTPs should also take note of the transport implications of relevant plans of regional stakeholders.

(iii) National Transport Strategy

59. The National Transport Strategy ( NTS), once produced, will be a key input to the RTSs. It will provide national policy context and direction on how transport delivery contributes to the achievement of other national objectives e.g. on economic growth, climate change and social inclusion. At the same time, early work undertaken to prepare regional strategies will be an important input into the first national strategy.

(iv) Local transport strategies

60. The RTS should provide a framework for the transport activities of constituent councils ( i.e. those confined to a council area), health boards and others but not necessarily go into great detail on those delivery issues that will remain outwith their direct responsibility. Therefore, if, for example, an RTP was taking forward regional bus corridors then the RTS would comment on how these would co-ordinate with local bus corridors, local bus services and even, if judged necessary, what might appear to be purely local concerns such as the location or quality of bus stops and bus shelters. Where particular objectives identified by the RTP need purely local activity to achieve them, the RTS need not be heavily prescriptive but would need to make clear (to the council, or whoever else was responsible) that certain activities or outputs were needed in order for certain regional objectives to be achieved. An example could be a regional objective of reducing road accidents outside schools. The RTS could set out a consistent regional approach to this or could leave it to each council, working with its local partners, to determine the best way to contribute effectively to an overall regional target, set in conjunction with others, with the RTP taking on a monitoring role.

61. This equally applies to the strategies of those partnerships that have greater operational responsibilities ¹². In these cases, the RTS should remain high-level but other plans and policies will be required to support the RTP's implementation of those parts of the strategy that fall under its direct control.

62. Whilst the RTS will act as a framework for local transport strategies, the existing strategies of the constituent councils will also contribute to the RTS. This relationship should benefit both local and regional strategies. The strategies drawn up by the existing voluntary partnerships and SPT (including the joint SPT- WESTRANS transport strategy) will be important inputs and in many cases form a solid foundation for the drawing up the RTS.

63. When taken together, the national, regional and local strategies will represent a hierarchy of interventions in transport services, infrastructure and travel behaviour and a comprehensive framework for the improvement of transport across the whole of Scotland.

(v) Community Planning

64. Regional transport partnerships will, from April 2006, be required to participate in community planning. The requirements for this are set out in the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003. Where community plans are in place, these should also be taken into account during the drawing up of the regional transport strategy. It is important that the RTPs engage with their community planning partners, individually or collectively, during the drawing up of their strategies, and that community plans take account of regional transport strategies once these are in place.

(vi) Drivers and constraints

65. The demand and supply of travel and transport services is driven and constrained by a wide range of social, economic, legislative, political and technological factors. These types of trends and changes should be considered in the development of strategies which will be looking forward at least one and perhaps two decades. A list of some of these drivers and constraints is included in Annex F. There will be others which are specific to each region.

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