The Scottish Government

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SCOTLAND - 2030

141. The key aims of the strategy for Scotland's spatial development to 2030 are:

• to contribute to a wealthier and fairer Scotland by supporting sustainable economic growth and improved competitiveness and connectivity;
• to promote a greener Scotland by contributing to the achievement of climate change targets and protecting and enhancing the quality of the natural and built environments;
• to help build safer, stronger and healthier communities, by promoting improved opportunities and a better quality of life; and
• to contribute to a smarter Scotland by supporting the development of the knowledge economy.

A GROWING ECONOMY

142. Higher sustainable economic growth is the key priority and the approach to achieving that is set out the Government Economic Strategy ( GES). Scotland is surrounded by an Arc of Prosperity. Ireland, Iceland and Norway are three of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Government wants Scotland to achieve comparable success and the GES sets the following economic targets:

• to raise Scotland's GDP growth rate to the UK level by 2011;
• to match the growth rate of the small independent EU countries by 2017; and
• to match average European ( EU-15) population growth over the period from 2007 to 2017.

The Government is determined that growth should benefit the whole of society and should not come at the expense of our environment. It is committed to increasing wealth throughout Scotland and to reducing regional disparities. It has set the target of narrowing the gap in participation between Scotland's best and worst performing regions by 2017. Planning will have an important role to play in meeting GES targets.

143. The Enterprise Network is being refocused to provide a more streamlined service for the business community and support key industries. The aim is to create a knowledge-driven economy capable of meeting the challenges of a highly competitive global environment. Progress towards a more competitive position will be based on a skilled workforce, creativity and enterprise and the transfer of knowledge into the market place. Scotland's universities, higher education institutions and further education colleges lie at the core of the strategy for developing the skills base necessary to support a knowledge driven economy. The Government is substantially increasing funding for cutting edge research. It will also provide more targeted support for the creative community to maximise the economic potential of Scotland's arts and culture.

144. The Government wants Scotland to be the best place in Europe to do business. It is promoting the country as the ideal location for investment and tourism. That means a Scotland that is well connected economically, physically, digitally and intellectually to the rest of the world.

A GREENER SCOTLAND

145. The Government is committed to a greener Scotland. It has committed to a short-term target of reducing emissions over the period to 2011, a long-term target of an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050, and will consult on the measures to be included in a Climate Change Bill. Key elements of the strategy for achieving a substantial reduction in emissions are energy conservation measures and greater energy efficiency, making the most of Scotland's renewable energy potential and encouraging power and heat generation from clean, low carbon sources. Planning and transport policies can make an important contribution by promoting more sustainable patterns of development and travel. Policies on building standards also have a crucial role to play in creating a more sustainable, resource efficient built environment. There is also a need to deal with the effects of climate change by adapting to it.

146. Human activity has important impacts on natural resources, including biodiversity and landscape and sustainable economic and social development depend on healthy terrestrial and marine environments. Realising the vision set out in this framework will require a strong commitment to protecting and enhancing the natural, built and cultural environments, which are essential components of our quality of life and unique economic assets. Planning has an important role to play in managing the environment, for example by protecting sites designated for their natural heritage value, safeguarding and enhancing urban and rural biodiversity, contributing to the improvement of water, air and soil quality, and ensuring that new development does not result in the loss of landscape quality or the erosion of cultural heritage and identity. Economic development must be closely integrated with the promotion of environmental quality and the sustainable management of environmental resources. Areas of change must be seen as opportunities to build environmental capital and create high quality environments.

STRONGER, HEALTHIER AND SAFER COMMUNITIES

147. The Government is placing a stronger focus on the needs of Scotland's communities and will promote decentralist policy solutions that devolve power to the local level. Good governance, community empowerment and local initiative are essential elements of successful place-making. A distinctive identity, building on local traditions and developing local speciality products, can help to restore the sense of pride and community which makes places safe and attractive environments in which to live. Tackling derelict land, improving physical infrastructure and upgrading environmental quality can help to promote environmental justice and provide employment opportunities for those less well equipped to participate in the knowledge economy. More local decision making will strengthen the ability of communities to respond effectively and swiftly to local challenges, such as the local implications of climate change.

148. The Scottish Government's principal objective for regeneration policy is to promote the successful and sustainable transformation of communities across Scotland by creating the right environment for private and public investment; through targeted action in the most disadvantaged communities, and by devolving power to the local level. It sees Urban Regeneration Companies ( URCs) as an effective means of harnessing the skills and resources of the public and private sectors in areas which offer opportunities for major change. The scale of the opportunities in the Clyde Corridor makes it a national regeneration priority and, within it, the Clyde Gateway and the Clyde Waterfront are the main foci for regeneration in the medium term. This activity is supported by Scottish Government funding that will allow people in surrounding deprived communities to take advantage of the opportunities that the transformation of the Gateway and Waterfront will bring.

149. The Government is placing emphasis on reducing health inequalities, both within Scotland and between Scotland and the rest of the world. It is also committed to keeping health services local. There will be a presumption against centralisation of core hospital services to protect local access to health care.

DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

150. The main elements of the spatial strategy to 2030 are to:

• support strong, sustainable growth for the benefit of all parts of Scotland;
• promote development which helps to reduce Scotland's carbon footprint and facilitates adaptation to climate change;
• support the development of Scotland's cities as key drivers of the economy;
• support sustainable growth in the rural economy;
• conserve and enhance Scotland's distinctive natural and cultural heritage;
• expand opportunities for communities and businesses by promoting environmental quality and good connectivity;
• enable disadvantaged communities to benefit from growth and access opportunities;
• strengthen links with the rest of the world;
• promote more sustainable patterns of transport and land use;
• realise the potential of Scotland's renewable energy resources and facilitate the generation of power and heat from clean, low carbon sources;
• encourage a sufficient supply of homes that are affordable in places where people want to live; and
• facilitate the achievement of waste management targets.

The Cities and their Regions

151. The first National Planning Framework recognised the importance of our cities as key drivers of the economy. If our cities are to be competitive places attracting high value jobs and creative people, they must be well connected and able to offer distinctive, high quality environments and a first class quality of life. Good air links, the presence of centres of academic excellence, and well-developed social and cultural facilities are essential parts of the package. Attractive, lively cities also help to support a strong tourism and leisure economy. Edinburgh and Glasgow are already major tourism gateways and Aberdeen and Inverness are beginning to develop that role.

152. Successful cities need to be supported by strong regions well connected to urban facilities and offering residential amenity, good business environments and infrastructure and social, recreational and cultural opportunities which cannot be provided in the urban core. We need an approach to city region development which promotes economic growth, environmental quality, connectivity, regional and local distinctiveness and the efficient and sustainable use of resources. Development patterns must be robust in relation to long-term climate change, taking account, for example, of changing levels of flood risk and vulnerability to the predicted increase in the frequency of extreme weather events. Efficient public transport systems are needed to support increasingly flexible city region labour markets, and to help minimise reliance on more carbon intensive modes of transport.

153. The package of reforms introduced by the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 provides for strategic planning based on city regions, with strategic development plans ( SDPs) being prepared for the city regions of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee. The recent restructuring of the enterprise agencies and VisitScotland will facilitate strategic policy making at the city region level. The city region approach recognises that our cities are the hubs of wider regional economies and that the complementary assets of their surrounding towns and rural areas offer opportunities for a wide range of economic, cultural and recreational activities. It also provides the opportunity to develop extensive green networks connecting our inner urban areas with their surrounding rural environments, providing a wide range of social, health and environmental benefits.

154. Edinburgh and Glasgow are vital to Scotland's economic wellbeing. The increasing collaboration between the cities aims to exploit their scale and relative proximity and the strengths of their surrounding regions to create a single shared economic space of international significance. Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness also have key roles as drivers of economic activity and it is essential that they are well connected to Edinburgh and Glasgow, their wider regions and the rest of the world. The rural areas which lie beyond the city regions have economic, environmental and cultural assets of enormous economic and community value. Good connectivity will again be critical in realising the full potential of these assets.

Sustainable Growth

155. Strategic concentrations of business activity and clusters of related industries are to be found in the Clyde Corridor, Lanarkshire, Central Scotland, the Lothians and South Fife, Dundee, Aberdeen and the Inner Moray Firth. Within these broad areas, key locations which have been identified as offering substantial strategic growth potential are the Clyde Waterfront and Clyde Gateway, West Edinburgh, the Upper Forth, the Dundee Waterfront and the Inverness to Nairn Corridor. The economic success of these areas depends on good links to the rest of Scotland and the wider world. It is therefore essential that investment in new or improved infrastructure reflects economic development priorities and the need to support sustainable growth.

156. Individual business locations need to be well connected with each other and readily accessible from residential areas by sustainable modes of transport. To ensure that Scotland is a good place to do business and an attractive tourism destination, we need to promote high quality environments and good transport interchange facilities at our air, rail and sea gateways.

157. The key industries on which the efforts of the Government are being focused are the life sciences, energy, financial services, tourism, creative industries, food and drink and electronic markets. In addition, Scottish Enterprise has identified textiles, aerospace, shipbuilding and marine, chemicals, construction and forestry as priority industries at a regional level. The spatial dimension of the relationship between businesses within a sector can be important. The planning system should ensure that business and industrial land allocations take account of opportunities to foster the development of synergistic business clusters, and facilitate the provision of supporting infrastructure. Reducing journey times between Aberdeen and the Central Belt will help to support Aberdeen's role as an energy centre.

158. The Government is committed to reducing regional disparities and ensuring that growth benefits the whole of society. This will involve targeted investment in connectivity and environmental quality to ensure that each part of the country is well placed to participate successfully in the modern economy. A more even spread of economic activity will help to relieve pressures in high growth areas such as Edinburgh, provide additional opportunities in areas such as Ayrshire, Inverclyde, West Dunbartonshire and Dundee, and improve the overall efficiency of the Scottish economy. It will be important to ensure that communities undergoing regeneration enjoy good access to the opportunities being created in strategic growth areas.

159. While much can be done to improve the competitiveness of places throughout Scotland, some of the companies which might consider locating in the capital could not easily be attracted elsewhere. For some headquarters functions, the choice may be between Edinburgh and a prestige location elsewhere in the UK or overseas. However, high land values, skill shortages and congestion in the more pressured areas will encourage some businesses to consider alternative, cheaper locations. Glasgow's success in creating new jobs in the service industries and a new financial district on the Broomielaw illustrates the scale of the potential in the West.

160. The future of rural areas lies in a close alliance between economic diversification and environmental stewardship. Many rural areas can absorb more people without losing their environmental quality and modern communications technologies now make widely dispersed economic activity a practical proposition. The space and environmental quality which rural Scotland can offer is at a premium in the developed world. High quality natural surroundings offering opportunities for a wide range of recreational activities can provide attractive locations for creative and knowledge-based businesses, including those based on Scotland's distinctive environment and culture. Scotland's two national parks are already demonstrating the ways in which environmental quality can be used to support economic and social development, and similar benefits can be achieved in our National Scenic Areas. The Scottish Planning Policy, Planning for Rural Communities ( SPP15), sets out a vision for the creation and maintenance of vibrant rural communities.

161. Higher education has a key role to play in developing the knowledge economy in rural areas. The UHI Millennium Institute with its constituent colleges throughout the Highlands and Islands, the Crichton University Campus in Dumfries and Heriot-Watt University's Borders Campus in Galashiels are excellent pioneering examples. While each is pursuing a different development model, all three are building new centres of expertise and creativity, providing high-level jobs, offering opportunities for people to study locally, developing international links and attracting students from around the world.

162. Energy is a major resource for rural areas. The Government is committed to realising the power generating potential of renewable sources of energy and encouraging the use and supply of energy crops as biofuels. Development of onshore windfarms has been proceeding apace, but the longer-term potential is likely to lie with new technologies such as wave and tidal power, biomass and offshore wind. Coastal areas will play a key role in Scotland's bid to become a world leader and exporter of marine power technology. New high quality jobs are being created through developments such as the marine energy research centre on Orkney and wind turbine fabrication in a number of rural locations. The farming industry is keen to develop the potential of biofuel crops and the harvesting of Scotland's forests will provide a source of fuel for heat and power generation. Community-based renewable energy projects can make an important contribution to sustainable development in rural Scotland, particularly on the islands and in remoter mainland areas.

163. For many of our small and medium-sized towns, economic diversification must be a key objective. Encouraging a greater range of economic activity can help to reduce vulnerability to sectoral downturns, improve local investment levels and increase activity rates, spending power and vibrancy, so attracting more people to live and work in the area. A commitment to place-making, environmental improvement and connectivity and a flexible and positive approach to land allocations and the use of buildings are important elements of a diversification strategy.

164. Tourism and leisure activities have an important contribution to make to the development of the economy. The Government is keen to attract international sporting and cultural events to Scotland. It will strongly support the city of Glasgow in its role as host of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It is also continuing to support the conservation and promotion of the historic environment as an irreplaceable resource, a reflection of Scotland's cultural identity and a key feature of its appeal as a tourist destination. Tourism is a sector of the economy which may benefit from future changes in climate.

165. Across Scotland there is already a plentiful supply of land for business and industrial development. The sites safeguarded for high amenity use by the Scottish Planning Policy on Economic Development ( SPP2) are considered to be sufficient to meet potential requirements. Knowledge economy businesses are generally less demanding than the older industries in terms of space and land requirements. Many office-based activities are compatible with residential and other uses and therefore relatively easy to integrate into mixed use developments within the existing urban fabric. Against that background, regeneration in urban areas is likely to open up opportunities for the reallocation of some of the current industrial land supply for housing and other uses. The majority of business locations have already been identified. The planning challenge is to identify locational priorities, promote efficient transport and communications networks, secure improvements in the quality of places, ensure adequate provision of all types of housing, and use development as a catalyst for establishing multifunctional green networks.

166. Adequate supplies of minerals must be available to the construction industry if Scotland's infrastructure investment plans are to be realised and housing needs met. The Government has published guidance in the Scottish Planning Policy on Minerals ( SPP 4) setting out how this should be done. The identification of appropriate local sources of material will be particularly important in the Central Belt, where demand is likely to remain significant given anticipated levels of development. Sourcing minerals locally reduces the distances over which they have to be transported.

167. Significant CO ₂ reductions can be achieved through the development of carbon capture and storage technologies. The legacy of infrastructure and the geological knowledge gained from oil and gas production place Scotland in a strong position to exploit opportunities to reduce emissions by capturing CO ₂ and storing it in depleted oil and gas fields, deep saline aquifers or coal seams. Studies estimate that geological structures beneath the North Sea have a storage capacity equivalent to many hundreds of years of CO ₂ emissions from Scotland. The Government is seeking to co-operate with Scottish-based companies and technology experts to develop Scotland's carbon capture and storage potential, including sub-sea storage options. Carbon sequestration offers the opportunity for a new industry in the North Sea - prolonging the life of existing infrastructure and utilising the world class skills base in the offshore industry.

168. Carbon capture and storage have the potential to reduce net CO ₂ emissions from power stations by up to 90%. Given that Scotland's three principal fossil fuel power stations (Longannet, Cockenzie and Peterhead) contribute up to 38% of Scotland's CO ₂ emissions, this would represent a very significant reduction. Continuing protection of our internationally important peatland areas is also important, given their role as carbon reservoirs.

Housing

169. In the discussion document, Firm Foundations, the Government has set out its vision of a housing system which delivers more houses; contributes to sustainable, mixed communities; meets higher environmental standards; provides wider choice; and offers better value for public spending. Improving the supply of all forms of housing is a priority and the Government has proposed an aim to increase the rate of new supply in Scotland to at least 35,000 per year (10,000 more than the current level) by the middle of the next decade.

170. What is critical, however, beyond the stated ambition at a national level, is that enough houses are built of the right type and in the right places. Achieving this will require high quality strategic planning for housing and the setting of realistic housing supply targets through the Local Housing Strategies and development plans of local authorities. New Government guidance on the strategic assessment of housing need and markets will place a much stronger emphasis on local authorities working together at a regional level to build a stronger, more strategic evidence base. The Government's evidence base will also be strengthened by the commissioning of an economic model of the housing market that will strengthen our forecasts of future affordability at the sub-Scotland level.

171. Facilitating an improvement in the responsiveness of housing supply to demand will be a priority for the new development planning framework, in order to achieve and sustain improved affordability and to respond to the projected growth in households in many parts of the country. This priority will be particularly significant in development planning for those areas currently experiencing exceptionally high house prices as a multiple of earnings (Edinburgh and the Lothians, Highland and Perth and Kinross), and areas where large increases in the number of households are projected (Edinburgh and the Lothians, Scottish Borders, Fife and parts of the Highlands and Islands). Developing responses to meet housing supply requirements will require working at a regional level - particularly across areas of wider strategic significance for housing growth such as the Edinburgh housing market - to enable constituent local authorities to take a broader view of the options for increasing the supply of housing of the right type and tenure where it is needed most. The discussion document Firm Foundations seeks views on the Government's proposals for increasing housing supply and how this should be delivered.

172. The Government is reviewing its Scottish Planning Policy on Housing ( SPP 3). The revised SPP will strengthen the policy direction given to local authorities on how they should ensure provision of a generous supply of land for future housing development, create quality, sustainable residential environments, and guide development to the right places. The delivery of appropriate affordable housing continues to be critical and Planning Advice Note on Affordable Housing ( PAN 74) identifies ways in which the planning system can make an effective contribution - notably through the establishment of a benchmark figure of 25% of all new housing developments to be affordable homes where justified by a housing assessment.

Sustainable Communities

173. New houses should generally be built in and around existing settlements, making best use of brownfield land and existing infrastructure and minimising the need for commuting. However, in those parts of the country where the pressure for new housing is greatest some settlements will need to expand substantially and, in some situations, the creation of an entirely new, stand-alone settlement may be the best option. Under its Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative, the Government is inviting proposals for the creation of sustainable communities as exemplars of 21st Century low-impact development. These proposals should reflect the principles set out in Designing Places and embrace the concepts of sustainable urbanism. In essence this means development which helps to meet regional housing and economic needs; incorporates a mix of tenures and house types, including affordable dwellings; seeks to integrate land uses, including active and amenity open space; includes SMART measures to encourage more sustainable travel; provides opportunities for walking and cycling; and makes innovative use of renewable and clean energy technologies.

Adapting the Built Environment

174. Greater energy efficiency and more dispersed patterns of power and heat generation have key roles to play in creating a more sustainable built environment. Improving energy efficiency is widely recognised as the easiest and most cost-effective means of reducing CO ₂ emissions. The Scottish Building Standards Agency recently published A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland. The Government has also commissioned research into the integration of low and zero carbon technologies, including microgeneration, to inform further improvements to our building standards.

175. The application of appropriate planning and building design policies can achieve more sustainable urban forms and much higher energy efficiency and emission standards in new development. Modifying our existing built environment to meet the challenge of climate change will be a much greater challenge. Some 20th Century residential developments promote high car dependency and may require substantial, imaginative reworking. In some areas it will be possible to harness energy from waste or the heat produced by power stations to develop local heat networks. It is important that the pursuit of global environmental objectives does not undermine locally valued features of the environment. Our built heritage, including urban conservation areas, will need sensitive treatment. The planning system has an important role to play in anticipating and managing the local impacts of change.

176. The promotion of high density, compact cities is one important response to the challenge of climate change. Scotland's cities are already relatively compact by international standards. They offer short travel-to-work distances and in Edinburgh and Glasgow the majority of employed residents travel to work by means other than the private car. However, not everyone in Scotland lives in cities. A third of our population lives in small and medium-sized towns and large parts of rural Scotland are characterised by low population densities and dispersed settlement patterns. We need to develop a range of models of sustainable development to reflect Scotland's geographical diversity.

177. Planning authorities will need to develop strategies for more sustainable patterns of development which take account of climate change predictions. Measures such as reducing transport emissions and producing heat and power from renewable sources will need to be combined with an understanding of changing development capacity, defined by considerations such as long-term flood risk, the increased frequency of extreme weather events and the need to reduce and better manage demand for energy and water. In turn, the changes considered necessary in response to climate change will need to be reconciled with the need to safeguard local environmental resources such as biodiversity, water, soil, air quality, built heritage and landscape.

Vacant and Derelict Land

178. Scotland has 10,400 ha. of vacant and derelict land, most of it concentrated in the Central Belt (see Map 13). Some 3,700 ha. (36%) has been unused for at least 20 years. The Government wants to see this land brought back into productive use for housing, for economic purposes and to create attractive environments. Efforts are being focused on the biggest concentrations of vacant and derelict land which are in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Dundee. £24 million has been allocated for this purpose for the period 2002 to 2008, including £14 million for Glasgow and South Lanarkshire, as a contribution to the Clyde Gateway Initiative.

179. The statutory regime for cleaning up contaminated land provides for local authorities to identify sites and bring about their remediation. To facilitate the reuse of brownfield sites and the regeneration of urban areas the Government intends to provide a route for the remediation of sites of low development value or where there are barriers to redevelopment.

180. National planning policy encourages the reuse of previously developed land in preference to greenfield land. However, while the highest levels of growth are expected in the East, vacant and derelict land is heavily concentrated in the West. There is therefore potentially much greater scope for accommodating new development on previously used land in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley than in Edinburgh and the Lothians, Stirling and the North East, where a higher proportion of new development will have to be on greenfield sites.

Greening the Environment

181. The restoration of vacant and derelict land, former mineral workings and landfill sites offers important strategic opportunities for improving the environment and increasing biodiversity through the development of green networks and the expansion of urban, amenity and community woodlands. Indeed, vacant, derelict and even contaminated land can have greenspace and natural heritage value even without remediation. The Scottish Forestry Strategy contains a commitment to expanding and improving the quality of woodlands around settlements to provide an improved landscape setting and widen recreational opportunities. Indicative Forestry Strategies can provide a valuable policy framework for this work. Local authorities play an important role in promoting open space networks, facilitating countryside access and developing core path networks.

182. The Scottish Forest Strategy highlights the fact that climate change and the need to develop renewable sources of energy have become major drivers for extending woodland cover. It also draws attention to the contribution which forestry can make to urban regeneration and the benefits it can offer in terms of biodiversity, amenity, community involvement and better health. It aims to expand woodland cover from 17 to 25% of Scotland's land area and sets the forestry sector a target of delivering annual carbon savings of 1.0 MtC by 2020. Planning authorities should have regard to these objectives when considering proposals which would involve a significant loss of woodland. It will be important that woodland expansion is managed so that the environmental benefits are not reduced as a result of adverse impacts on other assets, including water resources, landscape and cultural heritage. Strategic forest resources are shown on Map 14.

183. In the Central Belt there is an opportunity to build on initiatives such as the Central Scotland Forest, the Millennium Canal Link, the Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Green Network and the Falkirk Helix to achieve a step change in environmental quality. A substantial increase in woodland cover will improve landscape quality, biodiversity and amenity and help to absorb CO ₂. Improvements can also be made to networks of other habitats, including wetlands, to counter fragmentation and allow for changing patterns of species migration. The development of footpath and cycleway networks and other facilities and attractions will contribute to a more sustainable transport network and greatly expand the range of recreational opportunities close to major centres of population, helping to encourage more active, healthier lifestyles. The creation of a Central Belt Green Network will complement improvements in rail, road and communications infrastructure, making the Edinburgh-Glasgow corridor a more attractive place to do business. The greening agenda will vary substantially in different parts of the Central Belt, requiring tailored responses which reflect regional and local challenges and opportunities.

184. There is also a need to restore and strengthen links between key water systems and woodlands on a national canvas. Building environmental capital at a landscape scale can deliver important benefits for the economy and communities. The creation of a national habitat network could make a major contribution to safeguarding and enhancing biodiversity, make it easier for species to adapt to climate change and create a better environment and new opportunities for local communities. Major linear infrastructure projects such as railways, roads, pipelines and cables should be seen as opportunities to strengthen green infrastructure and habitat networks. River basin management plans should highlight opportunities to improve and enhance the water environment.

Scotland's Landscapes

185. In their rich diversity, Scotland's landscapes are a national asset of the highest value. They provide the context for our daily lives and are a major attraction for our tourist visitors. They are settings for outdoor recreation and are valued as a source of refreshment and inspiration by many. They bear witness to the activities of our forebears and are a critical element in defining national and regional identity. Nationally important landscape characteristics include openness, intervisibility, perceived naturalness, and remoteness. The value of Scotland's landscapes extends beyond those which have been formally designated for protection to all areas which reflect the interaction of natural processes with human activities, in accordance with the terms of the European Landscape Convention.

186. Landscapes evolve continuously in response to climatic, economic, social and technological change. The Scottish Landscape Forum has emphasised that the cumulative effects of small-scale changes require just as much attention as large developments with immediately obvious impacts. Landscape and visual impacts will continue to be important considerations in decision-making on developments. Major urban regeneration projects, the changes taking place in the rural economy and the restructuring of our forests offer strategic opportunities to enhance landscape quality and repair past damage. However, even changes which offer other environmental benefits, such as the expansion of woodland cover, require careful design and management to avoid adverse impacts on landscape character. The aim must be to build environmental capital and pass well-managed, high quality landscapes on to future generations.

Marine and Coastal Environment

187. Key pressures on the coastal and marine environment range from urban expansion, energy-related developments and new infrastructure to shipping and land claim. Scottish Natural Heritage has identified a number of national priorities for the coast in the period to 2025, including improving enjoyment and understanding of its unique qualities, safeguarding and enhancing marine and coastal ecosystems, promoting sustainable aquaculture, and improving landscape character. The planning system can help to achieve this by ensuring that developments, including renewable energy and other infrastructure projects, are designed with the environmental resources and capacity of marine and coastal areas in mind. Integrated management of these areas will be an effective means of achieving this. The Scottish Government intends to deliver a Marine Bill including amongst other things a system of marine planning to enhance the sustainable use of the marine areas and to ensure that this key asset is maintained in robust health for future generations to use and enjoy.

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