Development management (formerly called development control) is the term used for the process of deciding whether to grant or refuse planning permission and other related consents. Planning authorities normally deal with applications for planning permission. Scottish Ministers become involved in a very small minority of cases, but only do so only where it involves a matter of genuine national interest.
The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 requires that decisions on planning applications should be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Material considerations should be related to the development and use of land. More information on material considerations is provided in Annex A of Circular 4/2009 Development Management Procedures.
Legislation
The main legal procedures for dealing with applications for planning permission are set through the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2008 and the Town and Country Planning (Hierarchy of Developments) (Scotland) Regulations 2009.
The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Town and Country Planning (Hierarchy of Developments) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 introduced approaches to processing planning applications which relate specifically to the scale of the proposed development. There are three categories of development - local, major and national. Flowcharts showing the procedures for National, Major and Local Developments are available to download and more information on the hierarchy is provided in Circular 5/2009 Hierarchy of Developments.
The legislation associated with modernising planning can be viewed on the legislation.gov.uk website and we have page of links to this legislation. Please note links to legislation are to the legislation.gov.uk website, which does not incorporate changes made to regulations. The Development Management Procedure Regulations, for example, have been amended by the the Town and Country Planning (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 amogst others.
Amendments to Planning legislation which have been laid before Parliament and are due to come into force on June 30, 2013.
Policy Aim
The main explanation of the Scottish Government's policy on development management is set out in Circular 4/2009 on Development Management Procedures.Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) sets out the Government's key principles and expectations for development management.
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Development management should support the central purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth
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Development management processes should be responsive, reliable, transparent and efficient.
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