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INTRODUCTION
1. Part 2 of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 introduced a new statutory basis for development planning in Scotland into the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 ("the Act"), including the replacement of structure plans and local plans by strategic development plans ( SDPs) and local development plans ( LDPs). The Act also gives Scottish Ministers powers to prepare regulations concerning a range of detailed aspects of the new development planning system. These regulations replace the Town and Country Planning (Structure and Local Plans) (Scotland) Regulations 1983.
2. This circular accompanies three statutory instruments:
- The Town and Country Planning (Development Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2008 (These are the main development planning regulations. References to 'regulations' in this circular are to this set unless otherwise stated);
- The Town and Country Planning (Grounds for declining to follow recommendations) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (These are separate from the main regulations because they were dealt with by the Scottish Parliament under affirmative procedure); and
- The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 (Development Planning) (Saving, Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Order 2008.
3. The Act itself includes detailed provisions on many of the procedures to be followed in preparing development plans. It also contains specific powers to prepare regulations which provide further detail on the development planning system. This circular explains how these two sets of requirements fit together.
It is intended to provide a single straightforward description of the legal requirements, and also to explain Scottish Ministers' expectations for the key parts of the process.
4. The regulations provide a minimum set of requirements to ensure that Scottish Ministers' priorities for the operation of the development planning system are achieved. They are intended to allow authorities to respond appropriately to the very different circumstances in which plans will be prepared over time and across Scotland.
PRIORITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT PLANS
5. Scottish Ministers' Planning Policy sets the broad principles that should underpin a genuinely plan-led modernised system. Development plans should be succinct and set out ambitious long term visions for their areas. They should be kept up-to-date and provide a practical framework within which the outcome of planning applications can be decided with a degree of certainty and efficiency. All interests should be engaged as early and as fully as possible, and there should be a clear focus on high quality outcomes. The primary responsibility for operating the development planning system lies with local, national park and strategic development planning authorities.
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