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PLANNING'S CONTRIBUTION

31. Scottish Planning Policy 1: The Planning System, sets out the objective of the planning system as guiding the future development and use of land in cities, towns and rural areas in the long term public interest. Planning must also ensure that development and changes in land use occur in locations that are sustainable and that the design, layout and management of development contribute further to the overarching objective for planning. A range of Scottish Executive planning policy and advice sets out ways in which planning can contribute to sustainable development, key examples being SPP 3: Planning for Housing, SPP 6: Renewable Energy, NPPG 11: Sport, Physical Recreation and Open Space, SPP 17: Planning for Transport and the Annex to PAN45: Planning for Micro-Renewables.

32. Planning can contribute to sustainable development in 3 main ways: location; design and layout; and, in some cases, operation and maintenance of development. Issues around location should essentially be addressed in development plans. Considerations of layout and design may be signalled in development plans but they are generally more site specific and best handled in supplementary planning guidance or individual cases and in close association with building standards departments. Matters relating to operation and maintenance are again best dealt with through supplementary guidance as well as decisions on individual cases; again close working with building standards is required to ensure a co-ordinated approach. Overall, the planning and building standards regimes should seek to complement rather than duplicate each other.

Location of New Development

33. A key challenge for planning is to promote new development and support regeneration in locations that are, or can be made, sustainable. This challenge, which is principally achieved through proper integration of planning and transport, is a key role for development plans.

34. In moving from high level assessments of the requirement for additional development - which themselves must be robust - to the allocation of land as part of a long-term settlement strategy, the logic and rationale for choosing some areas over others must be clear. This is not an exact science and will require the application of professional, technical, commercial and financial judgements. For example, an area that might offer the greatest possibilities in terms of low servicing costs may be protected by international, national or local environmental designations. The nature of these constraints and choices must be transparent and explicit in formulating the plan.

35. It is the fundamental role of development plans to consider a wide range of factors relating to location, including those set out below, and to consider the weight to be attached to each of them, in formulating a long term strategy for the management of change in an area.

• Assess the potential of existing settlements to accommodate further development and regeneration - Places have unequal potential. Some settlements may be very attractive for investment but their capacity to grow or expand may be restricted for example by their landscape setting or major deficiencies in infrastructure that are unlikely to be resolved in the short/medium term. It may well be that to make the cost of providing infrastructure viable the scale of expansion might be so great as to have a potentially negative impact on the character of the settlement. Difficult choices will be involved; the development plan process is where the debate about the scale, location and nature of change should take place.
• Promote urban regeneration - Directing new development to previously developed land in preference to greenfield sites safeguards a finite resource, reduces the amount of vacant and derelict land and supports regeneration. This does not, however, mean that development in such locations will always be the most sustainable option. This will depend on its location, in particular, how well it is connected to other existing or planned development and the scope to introduce new or improved transport links, to allow for access by a range of forms of transport and avoid reinforcing old, unsustainable patterns of travel. There may also be tensions if the proposed development of a brownfield site involves a risk of flooding or pollution, which will raise questions over its sustainability. Where vacant and derelict land is not appropriate for built development, opportunities should be considered for greening and creation of new open spaces, which can have benefits for access, leisure and recreation, and biodiversity as well as providing potential carbon sinks. In some cases, this may be achieved through the use of high quality compost, derived from green waste.
• Promote rural development and regeneration - In rural Scotland there are significant pressures for growth and development but also challenges around regeneration and increasing the viability of communities that are remote from larger urban centres. Policy and advice from the Executive has highlighted the need for a positive approach to planning for rural development. An important element is the promotion of locations for development which are well sited and well served by infrastructure and services with good design standards that respect, promote and enhance local identity by appropriate detailing and use of regional materials. To this must be added high environmental standards, particularly in relation to the generation of energy from renewable sources and energy efficiency. Also consideration should be given to minimising soil disturbance, particularly land that is rich in carbon, such as peat. These considerations will have to be balanced against a location where lengthy journeys by private car are inevitable while recognising the contribution development can make to sustaining rural communities. This debate should take place in the context of the development plan and clear policies, consistently applied, should then inform the future pattern of development. Sustainable land management aimed at improving biodiversity and managing the historic environment creates opportunities to diversify into tourism, healthier foods and to improve countryside access through core path networks, all of which can help to sustain jobs and rural communities.
  PAN 73: Rural Diversification highlights a range of ways to promote sustainable development in rural areas.
• Reduce the need to travel and encourage public transport use - New large scale developments, or other developments that are potential traffic generators, such as retail, leisure and office uses should be within existing city and town centres. Such developments should provide high quality facilities and access that encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport - to reduce the impacts of more unsustainable transport. The creation of mixed-use developments can also help to promote linkages between different uses, and can offer opportunities to spread the costs of sustainable transport facilities across a number of developers or landowners. Major retail, residential or commercial developments designed principally for private car users are unlikely to be sustainable even if the actual design and construction meets high environmental standards. SPP 17 provides further guidance on integrating planning and transport.
• Encourage reuse of existing buildings where possible - Planning authorities should promote reuse of existing domestic and industrial buildings, including wherever possible, historic buildings, and regeneration should be encouraged where needed or appropriate.
• Promote efficient use of land through higher density development - In some locations, for example, city and town centres, or sites well-connected with public transport, higher density development offers possibilities for more efficient use of land. However, these opportunities need to be seen in a wider context than the individual site, for example, taking into account townscape considerations and the capacity of local schools and health services.
• Maintain and enhance open space - The provision and maintenance of a network of quality open spaces enhances the built environment, contributes positively to health and wellbeing and to local biodiversity. Local authorities should deal strategically with open space provision, firstly by preparing an audit covering all open space, recreational and sporting facilities and secondly by preparing an open space strategy to safeguard open space and to guide the allocation of resources for investment. These should then feed into development plans in order to protect valued and functional open space and ensure that new development incorporates well designed spaces suitable for the requirements of users. Further advice is provided in NPPG 11 and PAN 65.
• Protect and enhance the cultural heritage - Planning has a significant role in protecting and enhancing the historic environment, which includes the site and setting of archaeological resources, historic and cultural landscapes, listed buildings and their settings, conservation areas and their settings and traditional and established settlement patterns. NPPG 5 and NPPG 18 are relevant but a review of these documents will get underway in 2007 with a view to producing a single SPP. PAN 71 provides advice on Conservation Area Management.
• Protect and enhance the natural environment - Natural heritage comprises nature conservation, landscape and biodiversity. Development plans should contain policies to protect and enhance natural heritage resources. NPPG 14, which will also be reviewed in the course of 2007, and PAN 60 provide further guidance. Planning policies and decisions must also have regard to the statutory obligations under the European Birds and Habitats Directives, in particular, the need to take account of adverse cumulative impacts on protected sites, and the duties under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 to further biodiversity conservation. Mitigation and adaptation to climate change, such as flood risk and coastal management measures, must take environmental interests into account and can provide opportunities to enhance and diversify our environment.
• Prevent further development which would be at significant risk of flooding - Planning policies and decisions should reflect up-to-date information on flood risk and ensure that new development is not built on functional flood plains. SPP7: Planning and Flooding provides further guidance on flooding issues.
• Consider long-term impacts on coastal areas - Coastal areas are likely to experience the greatest long-term impacts from climate change. Likely sea level rises together with the increasing frequency of storm surges and greater waves could lead to a significant increase in flood risk and rates coastal erosion. Planning authorities should consider how development patterns should adapt to these impacts, how resilient new development ought to be and what measures might be required in relation to existing development.
• Consider energy systems on a strategic basis - Planning should support all forms of renewable energy, including schemes to bring forward decentralised energy systems and renewable schemes which can contribute to low and zero carbon buildings. SPP6 provides further guidance on planning for such schemes.
• Manage waste effectively - Supporting the principles of sustainable waste management, planning should seek to promote the 'proximity principle', as set out in SPP 10: Planning for Waste Management. Where waste management is an issue, the SEA for the development plan should explore the various environmental impacts of the different approaches to the provision of waste management facilities identified by the plan. Issues to address in plan preparation include the implications of the proximity principle for economies of scale, potential opportunities for creating energy from waste and reducing the actual and perceived negative impacts on residential amenity.
• Conserve air quality - In drawing up development plans, planning authorities should consider the potential effects of particular types of development on air quality both now and in the future, especially in and around Air Quality Management Areas. Development plan policies aimed at finding sustainable locations for new development, reducing the need to travel and promoting public transport are likely to assist here. Plans should also identify suitable sites or criteria for the location of potentially polluting developments to mitigate the impact on air quality. SEA of development plans will test the impact of the plan on air quality conditions.
• Take account of the capacity of existing infrastructure - A clear understanding of the capacity and constraints in existing and proposed infrastructure and service provision is fundamental to the preparation and implementation of development plans. This will require effective liaison and dialogue with service providers which may be helped by a formal protocol or service agreement.

Design and Layout of Buildings

36. The design and layout of buildings can make a very significant contribution towards sustainable development. The Executive's planning policy statement Designing Places was published in 2001. Designing Places, and every design-based Planning Advice Note, identifies six qualities that create successful places - one of which is resource efficiency. Together these documents set out a framework to promote good sustainable urban and rural design. The Executive's new policy on architecture Building our Legacy (2007) sits alongside Designing Places and continues to drive forward the sustainability agenda. Well designed buildings and places are much more likely to be resource efficient, adaptable and cared for by the communities they serve. Good design is therefore an essential part of building sustainable communities and creating high quality environments in which people wish to live.

37. While a number of factors relating to the design and layout of buildings are better and more appropriately addressed under the building standards system (see www.sbsa.gov.uk), planning can also play an important role in a range of ways.

• Accessibility - Good access for walking and cycling to new developments is essential, as are easy links to public transport routes. Bicycle storage facilities can help to encourage transport by means other than the private car. Development plans should also link with emerging core path plans and help to deliver their proposals by safeguarding existing routes from development, identifying diversions where required as a result of land use change, and supplementing networks through planning conditions and agreements where appropriate.
• Energy efficiency - The consultation paper Achieving a Low Carbon Future, sets out the Executive's aims for improving energy efficiency and encouraging a greater uptake on microgeneration. The form, layout and design of new development has a major influence on the extent to which it will be reliant on energy use, for example, in lighting and keeping buildings at a comfortable temperature. Development plans (or supplementary planning guidance) should contain policies guiding the layout of development and providing guidance on its massing, form, orientation and landscaping, in order to minimise reliance on energy use. Development plan policies should seek to ensure energy efficiency in new built development - for example requiring combined heat and power to be built in at the design stage of development, and seeking greater use of community heating schemes, small scale renewable and low carbon energy schemes in developments. SPP6: Renewable Energy and the Annex to PAN45: Planning for Micro-Renewables provide further guidance on renewable energy, and SPP 6 sets a national minimum standard for on-site renewable technologies in new developments.
• Water efficiency - Scotland does not suffer from an overall shortage of water but there have been localised instances and the changing pattern of rainfall, which is expected to be part of climate change, may make these more frequent. Efficient use of water supplies minimises the resources which have to be devoted to the storage, purification and delivery of water, and then to its subsequent treatment and return to the environment.
• Waste reduction - New development can be designed to support separation of waste and easy collection of recyclable materials. In construction, care should be taken not to order too many materials which may then be wasted. Site waste management plans can ensure that materials and resources are used efficiently. SPP 4: Planning for Minerals also encourages the construction industry to recover material from demolition sites. Both practices ease pressure to landfill re-useable aggregates and other materials. Further advice on waste management can be found in NPPG 10: Planning and Waste Management and PAN 63: Waste Management Planning.
• Lifecycles - The lifecycle of buildings, particularly their flexibility and adaptability to different uses or occupants, will become increasingly important. Sustainable forms of development will be those which can be modified to accommodate new uses, for example, housing for varying needs, such as those of an ageing population. Development should be encouraged which will minimise the need to consume new resources over its lifetime, by making more efficient use of existing resources, using high quality materials and workmanship and encouraging use of renewable resources such as renewable energy.
• Building materials and performance - Developers should be encouraged to specify the use of recycled materials wherever possible. In some cases it could be made a requirement that materials from a building that is to be demolished be re-used. This is not just resource efficient: it can help sustain and reinforce local identity. Consideration should be given to problems that may arise from the installation of building elements or materials that due to their high embodied energy or ultimate toxicity may themselves be unsustainable. Building Standards require materials to be durable and fit for their intended purpose. Such fitness for purpose should take account of the possible impacts of climate change.

Operation and Maintenance

38. Issues around the operation and maintenance of new development can be important in ensuring its continuing sustainability. These issues may relate to the implementation of green travel plans or adhering to conditions on issues such as hours of operation, noise, dust and other forms of pollution. Precise conditions and agreements, effective monitoring, including the use of Good Neighbour Agreements, and robust enforcement, are fundamental to this. While the maintenance of buildings is essentially a matter for owners and occupiers, ensuring that arrangements are in place for the high quality management of open space and site restoration following mineral or other working are legitimate matters for the planning authority.

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