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Covering Letter

Directorate for the Built Environment

CONSULTATION ON SCOTTISH PLANNING POLICY 23 - PLANNING AND THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT ( SPP 23)

Responding to this consultation paper

We are inviting written responses to this consultation paper by 9 May 2008. Consultees are encouraged to make their response to the SPP in light of the findings of the SEA, as set out in the accompanying Environmental Report.

Please send your response to: spp23@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

or

Please indicate in your response which parts of the consultation paper you are responding to as this will aid our analysis of the responses received.

If you have any queries on the content of the consultative draft or the consultation process, please contact Mr Steve Dowell ( steve.dowell@scotland.gov.gsi.uk) or 0131 244 3108.

In Directorate of the Built Environment we are changing our methods of distribution, with electronic publication for all our documents, subject to only a very small list of exceptions which will also be published in hard copy, such as the National Planning Framework. In addition, we are creating an improved e-newsletter system which will provide an effective way of alerting you to new e-publications, including consultations. To register for electronic newsletters about planning, please register your details at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Planning/ecommsplanning as soon as possible.

The Scottish Government also has an e-mail alert system for all consultations (SEconsult: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/seconsult.aspx). This system allows stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly e-mail containing details of all new consultations. SEconsult complements the new planning e-publications system described above and allows you to register for consultations on specific topic areas across the Government. Please follow the SEconsult link above if you wish to register.

Handling your response

We need to know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to be made public. Please complete and return the Respondent Information Form which forms part of this consultation paper as this will ensure that we treat your response appropriately. If you ask for your response not to be published we will regard it as confidential, and we will treat it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that The Scottish Government is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.

Publishing responses

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public (see the attached Respondent Information Form), these will be made available to the public in The Scottish Government Library within 6 weeks of the close of the consultation and on the SEconsult web pages within 6 weeks of the close of the consultation. Where agreement to publish has been given, we will check all responses for any potentially defamatory material before logging them in the library or placing them on the website. You can make arrangements to view responses by contacting The Scottish Government Library on 0131 244 4556. Responses can be copied and sent to you, but a charge may be made for this service.

What happens next?

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us reach a decision on the shape of the final SPP 23. Further details on the timing of this process will be available through The Scottish Government's Planning and Building Topic page at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/planning.

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to steve.dowell@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or 0131 244 3108.

RESPONDENT INFORMATION FORM: CONSULTATION ON SCOTTISH PLANNING POLICY 23 - PLANNING AND THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT

Please complete the details below and return it with your response. This will help ensure we handle your response appropriately. Thank you for your help.

Equal Opportunities Questionnaire

This Equal Opportunities Questionnaire is requested in order that The Scottish Government can build an accurate picture of the make-up and diversity of the people that our planning policies impact on, and to ensure that the way in which we carry out our consultations is inclusive and not unwittingly discriminatory. If you have responded to this consultation as an individual, it would be helpful if you could complete this form. This information is only used for this purpose.

If you have a disability that requires us to make a reasonable adjustment to enable you to complete this form, please notify us.

THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION PROCESS

Consultation is an essential and important aspect of The Scottish Government's working methods. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of The Scottish Government, there are many varied types of consultation. However, in general, The Scottish Government consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which will inform and enhance that work.

The Scottish Government encourages consultation that is thorough, effective and appropriate to the issue under consideration and the nature of the target audience. Consultation exercises take account of a wide range of factors and no two exercises are likely to be the same.

Typically The Scottish Government consultations involve a consultation paper inviting views about the material presented. Consultation papers are distributed to organisations and individuals with an interest in the issue, electronically or in hard copy and are placed on The Scottish Government's consultations webpage to allow for participation from a wider audience. Consultation exercises may also involve seeking views in a number of different ways, such as through public meetings, focus groups or questionnaire exercises. Copies of all the written responses received to a consultation exercise (except those where the individual or organisation requested confidentiality) are placed in The Scottish Government library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD, telephone 0131 244 4556).

All The Scottish Government consultation papers and related publications can be accessed at: SEconsult http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations

The views and suggestions detailed in consultation responses are analysed and used as part of the decision making process, along with a range of other available information and evidence. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:

• indicate the need for policy development or review
• inform the development of a particular policy
• help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals
• be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented

Final decisions on the issues under consideration will also take account of a range of other factors, including other available information and research evidence.

While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.

PLANNING SERIES:

• Scottish Planning Policies ( SPPs) provide statements of Scottish Government policy on nationally important land use and other planning matters, supported where appropriate by a locational framework.
• Circulars, which also provide statements of Scottish Government policy, contain guidance on policy implementation through legislative or procedural change.
• Planning Advice Notes ( PANs) provide advice on good practice and other relevant information.

Statements of Scottish Government policy contained in SPPs and Circulars may be material considerations to be taken into account in development plan preparation and development management.

Existing National Planning Policy Guidelines ( NPPGs) have continued relevance to decision making, until such time as they are replaced by a SPP. The term SPP should be interpreted as including NPPGs.

Statements of Scottish Government location-specific planning policy, for example the West Edinburgh Planning Framework, have the same status in decision making as SPPs.

The National Planning Framework sets out the strategy for Scotland's long-term spatial development. It has the same status as SPPs and provides a national context for development plans and planning decisions and the ongoing programmes of the Scottish Government, public agencies and local government.

Important Note: in the interests of brevity and conciseness, Scottish Planning Policies do not repeat policy across thematic boundaries. Each SPP takes account of the general policy in SPP 1 and highlights the other SPPs where links to related policy will be found. The whole series of SPPs should be taken as an integral policy suite and read together.

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