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INTRODUCTION
1. The first National Planning Framework ( NPF) was published in April 2004. It set out a strategy for Scotland's development to 2025, providing a national context for development plans and planning decisions and helping to inform the wider programmes of government, public agencies and local authorities.
2. The first Framework was welcomed by local authorities, the business community and the planning profession and won recognition as an example of good practice in spatial planning internationally. It raised the profile of the spatial aspects of policy and the spatial development priorities the Framework identifies are now widely reflected in policies, programmes and development plans.
3. The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 amended the Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (together referred to in this document as "the legislation") to put the Framework on a statutory footing. The legislation places duties on Ministers to prepare the Framework with the objective of contributing to sustainable development and to review it every 5 years. It requires Ministers to prepare a Participation Statement setting how they will engage with the people of Scotland. It provides for the Framework to be scrutinised by the Scottish Parliament.
4. The second National Planning Framework ( NPF2) provides an important vehicle for the national debate about the sort of place we want Scotland to be. It will guide Scotland's spatial development to 2030, setting out strategic development priorities to support the Scottish Government's central purpose - promoting sustainable economic growth.
5. The Framework will play a key role in co-ordinating policies with a spatial dimension and integrating and aligning strategic investment priorities. It takes forward the spatial aspects of the Government Economic Strategy, highlighting the importance of place and identifying key priorities for investment to enable each part of the country to play to its strengths in building a Scotland that is wealthier and fairer, greener, safer and stronger, smarter and healthier. It will provide the strategic spatial policy context for decisions by the Government and its agencies, complementing the statements of national planning policy set out in the Scottish Planning Policy ( SPP) series. The legislation requires planning authorities to take the Framework into account in preparing development plans and it will be a material consideration in determining planning applications.
6. The Framework is concerned with Scotland in its wider context and has a strong outward focus. It addresses the major contemporary challenges of global competition, climate change and resource depletion. It is informed by the European Union's territorial agenda, its priorities for promoting economic competitiveness and protecting the environment, and its targets for energy supply and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. It provides the starting point for collaboration in wider spatial planning initiatives.
7. NPF2 develops the first National Planning Framework, drawing on the commentary and analysis contained in the 2006 Monitoring Report and the views of stakeholders. It describes Scotland as it is in 2008, identifies key issues and drivers of change, sets out a vision to 2030, and identifies priorities and opportunities for different parts of the country in spatial perspectives for the Central Belt, East Coast, the Highlands and Islands, Ayrshire and the South-West and the South of Scotland.
8. NPF2 takes forward the spatial aspects of the Scottish Government's policy commitments on sustainable economic growth and climate change, which will see Scotland move towards a low carbon economy. It focuses strongly on priorities for the improvement of infrastructure to support Scotland's long-term development. For transport infrastructure, it supports the strategic outcomes set out in the National Transport Strategy and draws on the work being undertaken on the Strategic Transport Projects Review. It identifies strategic priorities for investment in energy infrastructure, water and drainage capacity and waste management facilities.
9. The Planning Act makes provision for the Framework to be used to designate certain developments as national developments and establishes specific procedures for the consideration of such developments. In a statement to Parliament on 13th September 2007, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth set out the criteria which Ministers would use in designating national developments. The consultative draft identifies a number of major transport, energy and environmental infrastructure projects which Ministers consider to be essential elements of the strategy for Scotland's long-term development (see Infrastructure chapter) on the basis of an assessment against these criteria.
10. NPF2 is more than the spatial development strategy for Scotland. The identification of national developments is an important signal of long-term infrastructure priorities that will contribute to Scotland's sustainable economic growth. While the Framework is not itself a spending document, it is closely linked to the Government's Infrastructure Investment Plan and will inform the investment programmes of public agencies and infrastructure providers. The final section sets out a programme of action for implementing the framework, identifying how, when and by which agencies key elements will be taken forward.
11. The Framework is being prepared with extensive stakeholder involvement and its contents subjected to strategic environmental assessment in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005. To date, this assessment has included scoping, an interim assessment of the alternatives considered during the preparation of the Framework and a fuller assessment of the draft NPF. The scope and content of the Framework has been discussed with stakeholders since February and the Participation Statement has been regularly updated. The Participation Statement and Environmental Report have been placed on the Scottish Government's website at www.scottishexecutive.gov.uk/Topics/Planning/national-planning. The Framework will be revised in the light of representations on this consultative draft and submitted to the Scottish Parliament for consideration. The final version of NPF2 will be published before the end of 2008.
12. A key part of the new duties on race, disability and gender is the requirement to assess all policies to ensure that they do not inadvertently have negative impacts on equality groups. The NPF is the spatial expression of established policies which will have been subject to Equality Impact Assessment as part of their development. Projects designated as national developments will be subject to distinct planning procedures. Planning Regulations are currently being reviewed and are subject to Equality Impact Assessment as part of that process.
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