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Bidwells Property Consultants
Steven Cooper

Steven Cooper

Senior Planner
01738 494125
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Landscape & Urban DesignBidwells Building Consultancy ServicesEngineering Services

Scottish Planning System    

The Planning System in Scotland is going through one of its most radical overhauls in 50 years and our Planning Team in Scotland is well placed to give advice on the new Act. Operating from offices in Perth, Inverness and Fort William and serving clients throughout Scotland, it has extensive knowledge of planning practice and gives advice on submitting and negotiating planning applications, through to representations on development plans and expert witness advice at public inquiries. It is closely involved in residential, tourism developments, rural diversification, retailing and city centre regeneration projects.

The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006
The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 represents one of the most important reforms in the planning system in recent years and provides the legal framework in which the planning system will be administered by central and local government. The Planning Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament in  November 2006 and the timetable for the roll out shows that the legislation will be fully operational in the course of 2008/9. Some of the major proposed changes include:

The new Act will categorise developments into three different hierarchical types:

  • National Developments – The National Planning Framework is put on a statutory footing to help deliver developments of national importance.
  • Major developments - These will be identified in advance in development plans.
  • Local Developments - All other proposals, including a new minor applications category
Other significant changes include:

  • Development Plans - Structure plans and local plans to be replaced with a single tier system for all areas apart from the four “City Regions” of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.
  • Section 75 Agreements - It is intended that there will be some changes to the way S.75 Agreements are dealt with. Bidwells recently carried out a major piece of published research for the Scottish Government on Planning Contribution (PDF).
  • Appeals - Appeal procedures will differ depending on the category of development. Local applications will be decided on appeal to a body of elected members.
  • There will also be significant changes to procedures relating to Pre application consultation, Time Limits for determining applications and Enforcement.