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ANNEX D
PARTIAL REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

1. Title of Proposal

1.1 The proposed measure is the replacement Development Plan Regulations.

2. Purpose and intended effect

Objectives

2.1 The regulations are required to implement Part 2 of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 regarding development plans. The regulations will ensure that development plans are delivered in an effective and consistent manner across Scotland, while minimising the complexity of the preparation process and the regulatory burden on plan-making authorities. They have been drafted to meet the expectations of Scottish Ministers and other stakeholders as expressed during the passage of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, particularly as regards improved community engagement with the planning system, and greater transparency in the decision-making process. The aim is to bring regulations into force by the end of 2008. The intention is then for there to be an up-to-date framework of development plans across Scotland within five years at most.

Background

2.2 Currently, the form, content and preparation of development plans, and other related aspects of the development planning system, are regulated by the Town and Country Planning (Structure and Local Plans) (Scotland) Regulations 1983. The passage of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 represented the most significant change to the Scottish planning system in over 60 years, and requires the comprehensive replacement of the 1983 regulations.

2.3 Many of the elements of the new planning system that will be introduced through these regulations have already been aired in the following series of consultation papers and research papers, as well as in the course of the Parliamentary scrutiny of the Planning Bill itself:

• Review of Development Planning in Scotland research paper - 1998
• Review of Strategic Planning - June 2001
• Making Development Plans Deliver - April 2004
• Modernising the Planning System White Paper - June 2005
• Neighbour Notification Report on the Working Group - July 2006

Rationale for government intervention

2.4 The regulations are largely required by the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, and the expectation among parliamentarians and stakeholders in the planning process was that various matters which arose in course of passage of the bill would be dealt with in secondary legislation. Without these regulations, it would not be clear how the new system would work in practice, and the new system would not be workable.

2.5 The regulations will achieve consistency in the delivery of development plans across Scotland. This will help individuals and organisations, including businesses and voluntary organisations, that engage with different local authorities across Scotland.

2.6 The regulations are a vehicle for ensuring that national priorities for development planning are delivered. These priorities include better engagement with stakeholders, and more efficient delivery of plans, which should increase the usefulness of the development planning system for businesses and voluntary organisations.

2.7 If these regulations were not brought into force the benefits listed above would not be achieved.

3. Consultation

3.1 The changes to the development planning system were extensively trailed in a number of consultation exercises carried out between 2001 and 2005. These included the Review of Strategic Planning in June 2001, which set out the Executive's view on the way forward for structure plans; Making Development Plans Deliver in April 2004, which set out detailed proposals for modernising development planning; and the Modernising the Planning System White Paper which trailed the Government's proposals for modernising the planning system in general and set the context for the 2006 Planning Act. These consultation exercises involved a combination of elements including: direct mailing of the consultation paper to a wide range of public and private bodies and individuals; bilateral and multi-lateral seminars with stakeholders and publication of the consultation paper on The Scottish Government's website to allow for wider awareness and engagement. On the draft regulations themselves, there have been specific discussions:

• Within government - The draft regulations have been the subject of discussion and internal consultation with the Directorate of Planning and Environmental Appeals, Historic Scotland and Transport Scotland. Various individual points have been discussed with other relevant parts of The Scottish Government.
• Wider consultation - A sounding board was held with professional planners from local authorities, statutory bodies and private consultancies. In general local authority representatives favoured a lighter regulatory touch whereas other representatives favoured more prescription. A meeting was also held with the Development Plan Task Group of the Royal Town Planning Institute which consists of representatives from the public and private sectors.

4. Options

4.1 The revised framework for development planning is set out in some detail in the 2006 Act, so choices as to different approaches to take in the regulations have been necessarily limited. Some of the key areas where choices are to be made are:

• Content of Strategic Development Plans (SDPs) - SDPs are only to be required in the main city-regions. The draft regulations propose a number of topics that must be covered by policies in the SDP, including housing, economic and retail development. The choice has been made to keep the list of topics short to focus on the key cross-boundary issues at the strategic planning level. The inclusion of these specific topics should ensure that the need for new housing, business and retail land is properly considered at the regional scale, but may limit the ability of individual authorities to pursue individual approaches.
• Key agencies - The draft regulations provide a list of the bodies that will be 'key agencies' and required to engage in the development planning process. Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise have been included in this list, and this should ensure that development plans are properly integrated with economic development strategies that affect businesses. Other options might be to include a much wider list of bodies and organisations that authorities should consult. However, it is proposed that the list of key agencies should be limited to only those that are considered to offer services or provide information that is critical to the delivery of the development plan.
• Neighbour notification - As flagged up in earlier consultations, the draft regulations propose placing a duty on local authorities to notify the owners/occupiers of key site-specific proposals in local development plans (LDPs), and the neighbours of such sites. While the current definition of neighbouring land in use for development management purposes relates to properties within 4 metres of the site in question (with some exceptions), our proposed definition of neighbouring land has been drawn more widely to encompass land with 20 metres of the proposal site. This should ensure that businesses and other organisations that may be affected by proposals are aware of them and can make timeous representations.
• Publication - The draft regulations set out a minimum set of publication requirements for plans that authorities must adhere to. We expect most authorities to go beyond this statutory minimum, but are minded to leave it to local consideration how exactly plans should be publicised. The regulations do not set out a list of statutory consultees for development planning.
• Departures from examination reports - We have chosen in the draft regulations to propose that the occasions when planning authorities can depart from the recommendations of a report on the examination of a LDP should be strictly limited. It is hoped that this will ensure that there are safeguards against the valid concerns of the public and other stakeholders being ignored.

5. Costs and benefits

Sectors and groups affected

5.1 The regulations will mainly impact upon local (and national park) authorities who are responsible for preparing development plans. Impacts on business, charities and the voluntary sector will be secondary and focussed around any requirements for engagement between the plan-making authority and the wider community, and on any impact of the regulations' success in delivering efficient, high-quality development plans. The preparation of strategic development plans and local development plans will focus around two stages: early engagement around a report on the key issues, followed by the preparation of a single 'proposed plan.' It is in response to the proposed plan that formal objections or expressions of support can be made.

Benefits

5.2 The Government's proposals for modernising development plans were trailed in the consultation paper Making Development Plans Deliver in 2004. 32 responses (22% of the total) came from business and development interests, and most respondents supported the general tenor of the proposals. Many business respondents like the CBI and Homes for Scotland declared that in view of the real urgency for up to date plans, the Executive should see to it that timetables are set and are then fully complied with.

5.3 The draft regulations aim to ensure that the 5 yearly reviews of development plans are delivered efficiently. This will ensure that the policies and proposals of the development plan remain relevant and up-to-date. Businesses, charities and voluntary sector organisations should benefit from this clarity as to what the local spatial strategy is, and where development will or will not be supported.

5.4 The enhanced requirements for early and effective engagement in the plan-making process will allow businesses and charities to have a stronger input into the content of development plans.

5.5 The proposed requirement for SDPs to include policies on the location of housing, economic and retail development will ensure that SDPAs address the needs of these business sectors in their strategic city-regional context.

5.6 As regards the impact on local authorities, provisions for the new development planning system are aimed at providing a framework that will both lead to greater confidence and speed in the system. Efficiency savings are expected in terms of the removal of the need for two tiers of development plan across most of Scotland, reducing the number of strategic development plans from 17 to 4. Speeding up plan preparation by replacing the current two stages of draft and finalised plans with one proposed plan, and requiring the preparation of shorter and more focused local development plans that are fit-for-purpose, are also expected to result in efficiency savings. Provisions for the use of model development plan policies for certain topics are estimated to contribute to further efficiency savings, equating to a saving of £335,300 or an average saving of half a day per week for a senior policy officer in each planning authority.

Costs

5.7 No direct mandatory financial costs on business have been identified. Where businesses and other organisations choose to engage in the development plan process, the new system, as enabled by these draft regulations, should enable them to do so in a more constructive and less repetitious fashion. For instance the 'front-loading' of engagement activities to the new main issues report stage should enable businesses to express their opinions on how areas should develop in a more informal and fruitful manner. More regular reviews of plans i.e. at least every 5 years, could involve greater effort and cost for businesses and other organisations. It will, however, be for them to decide which plans if any that they wish to engage in. The move to electronic publication will make it easier for them to view the plan and make representations without travelling to a local library or planning office.

5.8 Achieving resource efficiency will require development planning teams within local authorities to be much more focused and managed. If this can be achieved, the general conclusion of research carried out by Arup was that authorities could potentially have sufficient staff to resource the development plan system as reformed. This is especially the case outside the city region areas, as resources are being released from work to prepare separate structure plans.

5.9 There are costs associated with the provisions for mandatory examination of strategic development plans. We expect to consult on draft regulations governing these examinations later in the year.

5.10 The main likely exceptions to the ability of authorities to manage within current resource levels are in terms of specialist skills required to prepare, monitor and review action programmes, ensuring statutory timescales are met, and the costs of neighbour notification of new site specific proposals in local development plans. There are also other resource demands arising from more effective engagement of key stakeholders and members of the public in the preparation of development plans. Research suggests that in total these costs might reach £3.35m per year. The organisation of the transition from the existing to new system will also present significant additional demands in terms of staff training and management.

5.11 Overall, research estimates that the additional costs of development plan provisions equates to around one additional middle ranking staff member per authority when savings and reallocation of resources are taken into account. Including local authority overheads this equates to approximately £3.4m across the system as a whole, or on average £100,000 per authority per annum. The extent to which efficiencies can be expected to be achieved in the early years of reform is difficult to predict. To smooth the adjustment process, research suggests that an additional 15%-20% above the total additional cost estimates might be prudent to allow for the time taken to achieve efficiencies.

6. Small/ Micro Firms Impact Test

6.1 No specific information is available, or research undertaken, on the impact of these proposals specifically on small businesses. However, the enhanced opportunities for early and effective engagement in the process, particularly as potential neighbours of LDP proposals, should assist small businesses to ensure that development plans reflect their needs and aspirations.

7. Legal Aid Impact Test

7.1 This test is not considered relevant to these draft regulations.

8. "Test Run" of business forms

8.1 These draft regulations do not contain business forms.

9. Competition assessment

9.1 The draft regulations are not considered to have any competition impacts.

10. Enforcement, sanctions and monitoring

10.1 Major improvements in development plan performance require a raised profile for development planning, and effective management of the process. We shall therefore require a development plan scheme to be prepared as a means of setting the programme for producing and reviewing local development plans and strategic development plans. This will be updated annually and publicised widely, as well as submitted to Scottish Ministers for information and comment. It will provide greater certainty and predictability for local people and businesses about the timescales for plan revision.

10.2 To ensure that local people's voices are fairly heard, we propose a mandatory examination for strategic development plans and local development plans where objections have not been resolved. In the interests of independence and transparency, reporters for development plan examinations will be appointed by The Scottish Government Directorate of Planning and Environmental Appeals ( DPEA) rather than the planning authority.

10.3 The Scottish Government already monitors some aspects of local authorities' development planning performance, for instance the number of plans more than five years old. The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 introduces a new set of statutory powers for Scottish Ministers to assess and gather information on planning authority performance. This may look across the planning function as a whole, or focus on one part, such as development planning. In March 2007, The Scottish Government consulted on the way in which these powers would be used as part of a new planning performance assessment framework. This included a number of proposed indicators for development planning. We are currently considering the responses to this consultation.

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