Scottish Government

Questions 16-18 Consultation with Network Rail

Q16. In terms of ease of identification would planning authorities prefer the distance criterion to relate to the railway line or the boundary of land which has a railway line on it?

Table 16 Consultation on development near railway lines - distance to property boundary or to railway line

51. Sixty of the 92 responses (65%) either had no comment or felt that they were not in a position to comment on the issue. Of those who did comment, 63% were in favour of the use of the railway line as the preferred distance criterion whereas 25% were in favour of the property boundary, with 12% having additional comments.

52. Comments on this particular question referred to possible improvements by Network Rail: specifically that it would be helpful if Network Rail could provide map information to the councils on the boundaries of land with railway lines. Concerns were expressed regarding the introduction of any unnecessary delays to the planning process by introducing new consultation requirements. Any additional refinement of the consultation criteria would be important as many railway lines are a distance away from the boundary, and terms such as "material increase" and "material change" could be further defined. The issue of consultation with Regional Transport Partnerships, either by protocol with planning authorities or with Network Rail, was also raised in one response.

Q17. Are there any other issues for planning authorities in interpreting or implementing this requirement?

Table 17: Network Rail consultation - any other comments

53. Seventy-five of the 92 responses (82%) had no additional comments to make on this particular question.

54. Comments raised by respondents focused in particular with the lack of information in particular the difficulty in identifying Network Rail land; clarification is needed on how the changes would apply to single, double railway lines, disused lines, railway bridges as well as level crossings; and clarification of the definition of 'railway line'.

55. One response mentioned that development at a large number of properties may be subject to the proposed requirement to consult and so some restriction on the consultation requirement would be appropriate. They also suggested that where consultation is required because of proximity to a railway line, any requirement to advertise the application because there were no premises on the land to which neighbour notification could be sent should be dropped.

56. Concern was also expressed that there may be potential for a significant number of consultations on minor developments and a potential for delays to the planning application process.

Q18. How many applications do planning authorities think might be covered by this requirement?

Table 18: Numbers of applications likely to be affected by the new requirement on consulting Network Rail

57. Eighty-five of the 92 respondents (92%) either had no comment or felt that they were unable to provide any information relating to the number of applications. Among the seven responses who commented, there was a wide range of views. Some city authorities said significant numbers could be involved, though they did not provide specific figures. One authority pointed out that even in rural areas railway lines run through many towns and villages. Specific figures mentioned ranged from one or two to 40 applications a year.