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LOCATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Conservation of the Natural and Built Heritage
21. Within the wider framework of sustainable development, the Executive is committed to safeguarding and, where possible, enhancing Scotland's natural and built heritage, including areas designated for their international and national heritage value. Planning authorities may also, with appropriate justification, identify and protect other areas designated for their local natural heritage value. While these areas may be important locally, the level of protection is not as high as that afforded to internationally or nationally designated sites. This may impose constraints on development but, with careful planning, the potential for conflict can be reduced. NPPG 14: Natural Heritage sets out the policy on how to assess development proposals whilst protecting, conserving and enhancing natural heritage interests. PAN 60: Planning for Natural Heritage addresses SNH's Landscape Character Assessment ( LCA) programme. LCAs may be of value in informing the outcome of individual minerals proposals. NPPG 5: Archaeology and Planning; PAN 42: Archaeology and NPPG 18: Planning and the Historic Environment provide detailed guidance and advice on assessing the effects of proposals on archaeological sites, scheduled monuments and the historic environment. Planning permission should only be granted where there will not be a significant adverse effect on the natural or built heritage features and qualities of the area under consideration.
Countryside and Green Belts
22. SPP 15: Planning for Rural Development notes that new development must be carefully planned if the character and quality of the countryside is not to be undermined. This objective can be reconciled with minerals extraction. Whilst mineral working is temporary, extraction is tied to the presence of the resource and can be a continuous development of several phases over a long period. These factors should be taken into account in assessing how to achieve the protection of the qualities for which the countryside is valued.
23. SPP 21: Green Belts aims to strengthen the role of green belts to support long-term settlement planning. To remain compatible with green belt objectives, clear reasoning will be necessary to justify mineral workings within green belts. Minerals developments that would result in the removal of dereliction, land instability, or poor land drainage may be appropriate provided the site can be reclaimed to a use that is compatible with the key objectives of green belt policy, commands community support or meets environmental standards agreed by the planning authority.
Agricultural Land
24. The Executive's policy on the protection of agricultural land is set out in SDD Circular 18/87 (as amended by SOEnD Circular 25/1994). Prime quality land is a national resource and should normally be protected against permanent irreversible development. Mineral deposits may lie beneath both prime quality and lower category agricultural land. On shallow mineral workings, reclaiming land to a high standard is now feasible, through careful restoration and aftercare. Management of soil resources is dealt with in PAN 64: Reclamation of Surface Mineral Workings. Demand for industrial raw materials and the contribution which minerals development might make to the diversification of the rural economy, together with the current pressure to reduce agricultural output may, in appropriate circumstances, offer opportunities to remove valuable minerals and to restore sites to a quality which would allow them to contribute to any upturn in the demand for agricultural production.
Rural Economy
25. Mineral working has an important role to play in supporting the economy of rural communities by providing employment. However, in many areas tourism and recreation support local economies which depend on the quality of the environment. Where this is the case, the likely long-term or cumulative impact of mineral extraction on other local economic activity will be a relevant material consideration. Settlements reliant on environmental assets to sustain rural life and attractive as locations for promoting investment may be more economically important in the long-term than new minerals operations. In this context, SPP 15 provides policy on new and economic development and on the value of enhancement in former mining areas. Stakeholder engagement in the preparation of development plans is important where minerals can contribute to the rural economy. Recreation and tourist facilities can nevertheless be an acceptable after-use for existing minerals sites once working has ceased. They may benefit from other after-uses such as nature conservation or from environmental improvement schemes.
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