Over the past year, many Local Planning Authorities paused the progression of their next Local Development Plan while awaiting the formal adoption of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4). Since NPF4's adoption on 13 February 2023, many authorities have resumed preparatory work on their respective plans.
NPF4 has superseded National Planning Framework 3 and Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) and now forms part of each Council’s development plan. Unless material considerations indicate otherwise, decisions on planning applications will need to be made in accordance with both NPF4 and the requirements of the local development plan.
Recent appeal decisions highlight the importance of Policy 16 ‘Quality Homes’ in NPF4. While the policy aims to “encourage, promote, and facilitate the delivery of more high-quality, affordable, and sustainable homes in the right locations, providing choice across tenures that meet the diverse housing needs of people and communities across Scotland,” it fails to support the development of unallocated housing land. It does not provide any alternative option to promote a development site outside the standard development plan process. Policy 16 (f) outlines the very limited circumstances in which new homes on land not allocated for housing are permitted. Therefore, engagement with and seeking to bring housing sites forward via the local development plan process will become increasingly important for residential developers.
In the past, there was a potential alternative route to obtaining planning permission for residential development outside the local development plan process. Developers could utilise Scottish Planning Policy’s presumption in favour of sustainable development and the tilted balance in favour of such development in cases where a shortfall within the Local Development Plan’s housing land requirement was identified. Following the adoption of NPF4, this alternative route is no longer available.
Following the adoption of NPF4, McInally Associates have continued to monitor the progress of each Local Development Plan within Scotland and have provided an update below in relation to some of the most important updates. It should be noted that not all Local Planning Authorities have re-commenced the progression of their Local Development Plans.
The implementation of The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 has introduced significant changes to the way LDPs are prepared. The period of longevity of LDPs has been increased to ten years from the previous five, with opportunities for interim reviews on certain matters. It has also resulted in changes to the local development plan process, which are outlined below.
Evidence Report
The Evidence Report is the first formal stage in preparing a Local Development Plan. It sets out to inform what to plan, and thereafter the Proposed Plan will be produced, which looks at where development should take place. The purpose of the Evidence Report is to provide baseline data, ensuring emerging local plans are based on sound evidence to inform a deliverable, place-based, and people-focused LDP.
Gate Check
Following the production of the Evidence Report, the Gate Check is the next stage in the process where it will be determined by an independent assessment whether the Council has sufficient information to prepare an LDP. This assessment (of the Evidence Report) will be carried out by a Reporter from the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA).
Should the Reporter decide there is sufficient information, the Council may then move to prepare and publish their Proposed Plan. However, if it is concluded that there is not, the Council will be required to address any deficiencies before progressing the plan any further.
Proposed Plan
Following the Evidence Report and Gate Check, Local Planning Authorities may decide to undertake a ‘Call for Ideas/Sites’ to help inform the proposed plan. This would be open to anyone to propose ideas for any aspect of the emerging LDP, including suggested housing development sites. The Proposed Plan will identify where new development should take place and where it should not. It can articulate the ambitions and priorities for the future development of the plan area.
After the ‘Call for Ideas/Sites’ process has been undertaken, the Proposed Plan will be finalised. Once published, there will be a 12-week consultation period to allow representations from everyone, including all stakeholders and interested parties, to be submitted to the Council. Following the close of the period for representations on the Proposed Plan, the Local Planning Authority may make modifications to the plan to take account of representations, consultation responses, or correct minor drafting and technical matters. A Modification Report will set out any modifications made and explain the reasons for making them and for not making changes where matters have been raised in significant numbers. The Proposed Plan will then be republished and submitted to Scottish Ministers, who will examine any unresolved representations via a formal Examination.
Examination
The examination process is carried out by a person appointed by Scottish Ministers - a Reporter from the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals. It is the opportunity for independent consideration of any issues raised during the formal consultation on the Proposed Plan that have not been resolved through modifications. The scope of the examination is limited only to issues raised in unresolved representations. These issues will be set out by the planning authority, and it is the Reporter who will determine the form the Examination will take. Only where the Reporter feels they do not have all the information they need to make a proper assessment of an issue will they request further information from any person.
If, having completed the examination, the Reporter is not satisfied that the Proposed Plan allocates sufficient land to meet the Local Housing Land Requirement (LHLR), instead of preparing an Examination Report, they may issue a notice that requires the Local Planning Authority to prepare another Proposed Plan. If the Reporter is satisfied that the Proposed Plan allocates sufficient land to meet the LHLR, then the Reporter will publish an Examination Report containing their conclusions and recommendations for each of the unresolved issues. Upon receipt of the Examination Report, the Council must accept the Reporter’s recommendations (except in some very limited circumstances) and will modify the Proposed Plan as directed.
Adoption
Once modified, the Local Planning Authority will proceed to adopt the Local Development Plan, which alongside NPF4 will be the basis against which to make decisions on planning applications.
Please see below an update on the progress of some of the emerging local development plans in Scotland.
East Ayrshire Local Development Plan 2 / Local Development Plan 3
East Renfrewshire Local Development Plan 3
Falkirk Local Development Plan 3
Glasgow City Development Plan 2
Inverclyde Local Development Plan 3
North Ayrshire Local Development Plan 3
North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 2
South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 3
West Lothian Local Development Plan 2
We encourage early involvement in the development process to achieve the best results for your proposals. We invite you to reach out to us for support with your development proposals for the emerging Local Development Plans. At McInally Associates, we possess extensive experience in this field and are ready to assist you in navigating the process. Whether you wish to make a representation or simply discuss your options, please feel free to contact us at 0141 332 5181 or advice@mcinally-associates.co.uk.
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