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Implementation
Development Planning
65. The reforms to the planning system, introduced by the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006, reinforce the primacy of development plans and introduce a requirement to review plans regularly so that they provide an up to date vision for development in an area. Fish farming policies should be reviewed in that context. Local plans (and in future, local development plans) should identify sensitive and potential development areas.
66. Development planning provides the opportunity for planning authorities to set out the locational policy framework for fish farming within the context of an overall strategy to meet the social, economic and environmental needs of an area. Policies and proposals for fish farming, should be set out in development plans so that impacts on and links to the wider area can be properly assessed. In updating development plans, planning authorities should take into account the guidance set out in this SPP.
67. Developments plans should include policies which:
- support the Scottish Ministers' commitment to the growth of a fish farming industry that is sustainable, diverse, competitive and economically viable;
- provide a clear development management framework for fish farming and
- recognise the locational constraints and opportunities identified in this guidance through the identification of potential development areas and sensitive areas.
68. Development plan preparation should embrace a wide range of views including those representing economic, environmental and community interests. Planning authorities should work with the fish farming industry and the Crown Estate as well as local and environmental interests in the preparation of their development plan. Planning authorities should, in conjunction with related strategies and relevant stakeholders, assess how to meet the requirements for new or modifications to existing fish farming development and to identify appropriate areas to site such fish farms having regard to this guidance and other policies of the development plan. In doing so, planning authorities should encourage public involvement and promote links with community planning. Identification in the development plan ensures that there is an opportunity at an early stage for effective engagement by developers and stakeholders including local communities. Development plan policies should provide for fish farming to make a contribution to local and national economic activity and that they do not have a significant negative impact on the interests and amenity of local communities as well as wider natural heritage, water environment or other economic sectors important to the local economy.
Fish Farming Framework Plans
69. Non-statutory fish farming framework plans, setting out the planning authority's approach in greater detail to fish farming development in specific areas, have historically been prepared to further guide development and assist with decision making. They can provide supplementary planning guidance on fish farming and can support development plan policies on fish farming. They may also provide interim policy guidance until appropriate policies have been adopted in the relevant development plan. As supplementary planning guidance, framework plans are material considerations in determining applications and appeals, as set out in SPP1; The Planning System.
70. Planning authorities should ensure that fish farming framework plans take into account:
- development plan context;
- description of the area, including hydrography;
- existing and potential development and scale of fish farming;
- area characteristics including flushing, pollution, separation, capacity, landscape / visual / nature conservation impact, infrastructure, other users, socio-economic interests;
- opportunities and constraints to further development;
- area policies including relocation potential and
- development in accordance with the industry's Codes of Good Practice.
Boundaries
71. Planning authorities are encouraged to work jointly and reach agreement with neighbouring authorities to ensure that provision for fish farming in adjoining areas is compatible. Loch-wide and river basin management approaches are also encouraged particularly in areas where planning authorities share a boundary within a loch system. Examples of this could be in areas such as Loch Linnhe and Loch Long.
Development Management
72. Development management decisions should be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. This applies to all new development, and modifications to existing facilities and changes of use.
73. The assessment of individual applications should ensure that:
- the location is appropriate and in accordance with the development plan;
- the scale, nature, siting and design is acceptable and sustainable at the local level and
- there is no unacceptable impact on the environment or other users.
74. Prospective developers should discuss their proposals with the planning authority and statutory agencies before submitting formal applications. This should include discussions with the Crown Estate in relation to the availability
of appropriate lease sites. Developers are also encouraged to undertake
pre-application consultation with the local community. This will help them to identify potential constraints and opportunities at an early stage.
75. It is important that a transparent and consistent approach to decision making is adopted to allow individuals, communities, environmental and development interests to be clear about what will be allowed, what standards will be sought in terms of siting or design and what information will be required in support of an application. Applications should be supported by sufficient information to enable the planning authority and their consultees to assess the likely effects. The information sought by a planning authority from a developer should be tailored to the scale of the proposal and the sensitivity of the location and should generally be less onerous for smaller projects than that required for other larger proposals. Consultees should provide clear, concise and prompt advice on which planning authorities can rely.
76. Applications should contain the following information:
- extent of site;
- type, number and physical scale of structures;
- disposition of structures across the lease area;
- on-shore facilities;
- ancillary equipment (feed barges, etc);
- lighting and noise impact;
- restoration in the event of cessation of operations;
- Environmental Assessment (if required) and
- transport impact assessment (if required).
77. In seeking to reconcile the opportunities for local employment and other economic benefits arising from fish farming with other interests, including environmental and conservation considerations, certain factors are particularly relevant when assessing individual proposals for fish farms. They should be addressed, where appropriate, in an Environmental Impact Assessment or in supporting information where a formal EIA is not required and conditions attached, as necessary, to planning applications. The factors may include:
- landscape and visual impact;
- siting and design;
- effect on natural heritage and the historic environment;
- impact on wild recreational fisheries;
- effect on fishing and navigation;
- access and infrastructure requirements;
- methods of operation (lighting impacts, associated noise etc).;
- cumulative impact and
- socio and economic benefits.
Planning Conditions
78. Planning permission may be subject to planning conditions. Circular 4/1998 provides information on the use of planning conditions in planning permissions and on model planning conditions. The planning authority should seek to minimise the number of planning conditions needed but ensure that they cover siting, design, visual impact, operational practices such as lighting and noise, restoration, aftercare and monitoring. Conditions must meet the applicability tests set out in the Circular.
Monitoring and Enforcement
79. Effective monitoring and, if required, enforcement of planning conditions is necessary to ensure that development is carried out in accordance with planning permission. Failure to do so will undermine the credibility of the planning system. Planning authorities should ensure that effective management is in place to monitor the conditions attached to planning permissions. Care should be taken, however, to ensure that monitoring relates to planning issues, and not to regulatory matters covered by others.
80. Scottish Ministers attach significance to effective enforcement and a wide range of powers is available; their use being at the discretion of planning authorities. Mitigating potential environmental impacts may rely in some places on enforcement of conditions. Enforcement powers available to planning authorities are summarised in SPP1; The Planning System and explained in PAN 54 Planning Enforcement and Circular 4/1999.
Environmental Impact Assessment
81. Environmental Impact Assessment ( EIA) is an integral part of the process of determining applications. The EC Directive on Environmental Assessment (85/337/ EC), as amended, seeks to ensure that where a development is likely to have significant effects on the environment, the potential effects are systematically addressed in a formal environmental statement. Not all applications require a formal EIA. Sufficient environmental information, however, needs to be submitted in support of an application.
82. Marine and freshwater fish farming have previously been subject to different
EIA regulations but this has been resolved with the transposition, as appropriate, of the Environmental Impact Assessment (Fish Farming in Marine Waters) Regulations 1999 into the Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1999, as amended. Fish farming, excluding shellfish farming, falls within Schedule 2 development and must therefore be subject to EIA whenever it is likely to have a significant effect on the environment. This includes changes or extensions to existing developments that may have a significant adverse effect on the environment even where the original development was not subject to EIA. Applicants are encouraged to seek a screening opinion from the planning authority at an early stage in developing proposals for new sites or significant expansions to existing sites. The introduction of EIA for marine fish farms into the statutory planning system will not lead to any changes in the consideration of EIA for freshwater fish farms.
83. Environmental Assessment Guidance Manual for Marine Salmon Farmers, published by the Crown Estate in conjunction with the industry, provides advice about how to prepare environmental statements and is also applicable to development of proposals for species other than salmon. Copies are available on request from the Crown Estate. The Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum ( SARF) has been commissioned by COSLA to provide further guidance on EIA for fish farm developments.
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