Morton Fraser Planning Update February 2010

The planning system has taken on a new role in the development process following the passing of the Marine (Scotland) Bill by the Scottish Parliament. The Bill allows the creation of plans by Scottish Ministers for the purposes of guiding marine development and creates Marine Protected Areas to guard historic assets and natural heritage. The Bill also restructures the marine licensing system and is designed to complement the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to enable Scottish Ministers and Westminster to collaborate in regulating marine planning around Scotland.

The consolidated SPP has been published by Scottish Ministers. The SPP is a statement of the Scottish Government policy on land use planning and contains:

• the Scottish Government's view of the purpose of planning;
• the core principles for the operation of the system and the objectives for key parts of the system;
• statutory guidance on sustainable development and planning;
• concise subject planning policies, including the implications for development planning and development management; and,
• the Scottish Government's expectations for the planning system.

The consolidated SPP is available here. This is a much shorter document than the twenty one SPP, NPPG, circular and PAN which it replaces.

Following research commissioned in 2004 and 2008, the revised Circular on planning agreements has been published by Scottish Ministers. This Circular sets out Scottish Government policy on the use of Section 75 agreements and when such agreements should be used. It also provides guidance on the processes for determining the need for, and negotiation of, planning agreements. The Circular is available to view here.

The Court of Session has granted Scotland’s first ever planning-related Protective and Restricted Expenses Order in favour of Marco McGinty, a campaigner who sought judicial review of the inclusion of a port and power station development at Hunterston as a “national development” in the National Planning Framework 2. The Order is designed to ensure campaigners like Mr McGinty are not discouraged from challenging decisions due to potentially unlimited legal expenses. The Order limits Mr McGinty’s liability for the potential expenses of the respondents, the Scottish Ministers, to £30,000. An important aspect to this case, which justified such an order being made, is that the judicial review petition was regarded as being in the public interest, and not for Mr McGinty’s private gain.

A further consultation on extending permitted development rights to householders for domestic micro wind turbines (MWT) and air source heat pumps (ASHP) was issued by the Scottish Government on 5 February 2010. The consultation is available to view here and seeks responses on the extent to which planning control can be reduced by making MWTs and ASHPs permitted development. Responses are sought by 30 April 2010. A limited Order, granting permitted development rights for a restricted list of micro generation equipment was made on 5 February and comes into force on 12 March 2009. This Order is available to view here.